The two’s are an exciting and challenging time for toddlers. Most toddler’s now have enhanced language skills. There are new concepts, emotions, and life skills to be learned. Books act as the guiding tool for helping toddlers understand the world they live in. Here are my top picks in books for 2 year olds.
There are many benefits of reading to your child, you can read my post on the importance of reading books to children.
I made this list keeping in mind the developmental milestones and challenges associated with the two’s, read tantrums! Each of these books have been read and re-read in our home and are age appropriate books for 2 year olds.
The best books for 2-3-year-olds should cover new concepts like numbers, alphabets, shapes, and other learning concepts about the world they live in. This is also a great time to use books to teach them about key life skills like potty training, helping them wean off breastmilk, and learning about emotions.
BEST BOOKS FOR 2 YEAR OLDS
I love the Maisy mouse series by Lucy Cousins. One of our favorites is the Beep Beep, Maisy! book. The book introduces different types of vehicles and modes of transport. It’s a lift the flap book with many tiny details to look and point at.
Including lift the flap books for 2 year olds is a great way to get them excited about reading books. Toddler’s love discovering what’s hiding behind each flap and pointing at objects they notice.
The Maisy book series can be used to teach children about the world around them. Some good options in the series are;
This classic story about a baby hare trying to show his daddy how much he loves him is simply delightful. Guess how much I love you makes a great bedtime read. I love the bond portrayed between daddy and son, a rare find in books for this age group that usually focus on the mother-child bond.
It’s a funny little story about aliens from outer space who come to earth just to take back some underpants. A perfect read for a 2 year old just about to start potty training. It can help the child get excited about wearing underwear. Since they are just beginning to get the humor in stories, there are few funny scenes to enjoy in this book. One of our favorite books at home.
This is one of the best books for 2 – 3-year-olds about sharing and kindness. The lovely rhyming sing-along style makes this an engaging read for the toddler. My son thoroughly enjoys reading this book. I find introducing concepts like sharing, through stories more effective than trying to ask him to share with others around him. In time he will understand, the more you give, the more you get, until then this book is a great start at introducing the concept of sharing.
This book by the Usborne Publications first reading level 2 series is one of my son’s favorite. Once again it features the rhyming storytelling format. So apt for toddlers who love repeating after you.
It’s a funny story about a crooked old man who lives in a crooked house with a crooked cat.
Easy for toddlers to understand and I am sure great for early readers too.
I will be buying the entire Usborne phonic readers series as a part of our reading material soon.
Elmer and Wilbur are patchwork elephants. This story follows Elmer as he looks for his ventriloquist cousin Wilbur who is playing tricks on him. Wilbur ends up into a tricky situation, but Elmer and the other elephants help save him.
A great book showcasing camaraderie among brothers.
I bought this classic Eric Carle book, Tiny seed in a bilingual version. We speak a lot of Marathi and English in our home. I wanted to add a little Hindi through books to help my son catch new words in Hindi too.
The tiny seed is the story of a seed traveling through different seasons, locations and adversities finally finding a spot to sprout into a plant.
A must buy for any child’s book collection. It has easy to understand language and serves as the start of more in-depth conversations on seasons, the life cycle of plants, different natural elements and much more. Explaining such concepts through books enhances learning.
Is a lovely counting book by Julia Donaldson. A little boy’s teddy falls off the bed at night and tries his best to get back on the bed. The teddy gets help from different toys the boy owns and some friendly mice.
Beautifully illustrated, the images and the counting rhymes make this a great book to learn to count.
Around 2.2 years of age, I noticed my son was using a lot of words including the opposite forms. I bought this book to add to his library and expose him to more opposite words.
I loved that the board book was small in size and easy for him to hold and flip through pages. He picked up a few words with this book too. I think it’s a must-have book for toddlers.
We absolutely love this lift the flap book by Usborne Publishers. It is suited for the 2-5 year old age group. Especially, if you are homeschooling, this book has so many ways to teach toddlers numbers. The cute characters and flap book style make this book a must-have in my eyes.
The Numbers book covers everything from counting, to identifying numbers, to addition and subtraction. A perfect gift for any preschooler.
These are some of our favorites at home. I hope my recommendations of books for 2 year olds work for you too. Each of these books is easily available on Amazon India, so you don’t even need to go hunting for these titles.
We try our best to mix topics and cover a variety of subjects to keep reading fun.
Some of my previous age-appropriate reading lists;
Don’t worry too much if your child doesn’t show interest in books. Toddlers have a very short attention span so don’t expect your child to sit with books for hours at end. Reading 2-3 books daily is good enough. Once they are used to a daily session, the time and interest in books increases.
Which books do your 2 year olds enjoy? Do leave me recommendations in the comments section. I love knowing your favorite books too.
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Good choice of books, Ophira, Eric Carle at age 2 is quite a hit!
Yes, my son loves Eric Carle books. Always some engaging story and beautiful illustrations.
These are awesome Choices. My son is two Im always looking for new books to share with him.
Thank-you Kim. And that is so me too, I love researching new book titles for my toddler!
Thank you for the books Ophira! My son loves reading books and I’m always on the scout for new ones for him to explore. Might I also add the following of his favorites: The very hungry caterpillar, curious george, grumpy monkey (very nice book that talks about emotions and how to deal with them), my friend Rabbit, Where’s Spot?, In the garden (activity book to find & count matching bugs). Please do share if you come across any more. 🙂
Lovely suggestions Ahanya. Had included The Hungry Caterpillar in my book recommendations for 1-year-olds. I will look for some of the others you are talking about here too, we love discovering new reads! 🙂 Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Great reads