Recommended Books for Babies & Toddlers

A selected list of books available from the Curriculum Materials Center.

Look for other books by these authors. Most have other titles appropriate for the young.

Ahlberg, J., & Ahlberg, A. (1978). Each peach pear plum. London: Penguin.

Play ‘I spy’ with the nursery characters that are hidden in the illustrations.

Call Number: P J Ahl

Bang, M. (1983). Ten, nine, eight. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Numbers are part of a lullaby for this little girl going to bed.

Call Number: P J Ban

Barton, B. (1986). Trucks. New York: Crowell.

Dump trucks, tow trucks, garbage trucks and what they do.

Call Number: P J Bar

Berry, H. (1994). Old MacDonald had a farm. New York: North-South Books.

Colorful pictures illustrate the popular song about Old MacDonald's farm.

Call Number: j784.4 Old 1994

Brown, M. T. (1987). Play rhymes. New York: Dutton.

Twelve play rhymes with illustrated instructions for the finger plays.

Call Number: j793.4 Bro

Brown, M. W., & Hurd, C. (1947). Goodnight moon. New York: Harper & Row.

Little bunny says goodnight to everything in the room.

Call Number: P J Bro

Bruna, D. (1977). B is for bear: An abc. New York: Methuen.

Animals with names from A to Z introduce the alphabet.

Call Number: P J Bru

Burningham, J. (1970). Mr. Gumpy’s outing. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Join Mr. Gumpy and his friends for a pleasant boat ride until...

Call Number: P J Bur

Carle, E. (1987). The very hungry caterpillar. New York: Philomel Books.

Follow a hungry little caterpillar as he eats his way through lots of food.

Call Number: P J Car

Christelow, E. (1989). Five little monkeys jumping on the bed. New York: Clarion Books.

An illustrated retelling of a popular fingerplay.

Call Number: P J Chr

Eastman, P. D. (1998). Are you my mother?. New York: Random House.

A baby bird seeks its mother.

Call Number: [Small Book] P J Eas

Ehlert, L. (1991). Red leaf, yellow leaf. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

See how a maple tree grows from seed to sapling.

Call Number: P J Ehl

Evans, L., & Roche, D. (1999). Can you count ten toes?: Count to 10 in 10 different languages. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Rhyming verses teach how to count in ten languages, including Spanish, Japanese, Russian, Tagalog, and Hebrew.

Call Number: j513.2 Eva

Flack, M. (1931). Angus and the cat. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company.

Angus, the Scottie dog, learns many things, especially about cats.

Call Number: P J Fla

Freeman, D. (1968). Corduroy. New York: Viking.

A toy bear in a department store looks for a missing button, but finds someone to love him.

Call Number: P J Fre

Galdone, P. (1972). The three bears. New York: Seabury Press.

Three bears return from a walk, and find a little girl asleep in baby bear's bed.

Call Number: j398.2 Thr

Hill, E. (1980). Where's Spot?. New York: Putnam.

A mother dog discovers other animals hiding before finding her lost puppy.

Call Number: P J Hill

Hughes, S. (1985). Noisy. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.

Listen to the sounds that can be heard all around.

Call Number: P J Hug

Hutchins, P. (1968). Rosie's walk. New York: Macmillan.

The walk of Rosie the hen is uneventful, but not for the fox.

Call Number: P J Hut

Keats, E. J. (1962). The snowy day. New York: Viking.

The adventures of a little boy on a very snowy day in the city.

Call Number: P J Kea

Keller, H. (1984). Geraldine's blanket. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Geraldine keeps her baby blanket, despite her parents' objections.

Call Number: P J Kel

Krauss, R., & Johnson, C. (1945). The carrot seed. New York: Scholastic.

Despite people’s predictions, a little boy has faith in the carrot seed he plants.

Call Number: P J Kra

Lionni, L. (1994). Little blue and little yellow: A story for Pippo and other children. New York: Mulberry.

Two friends find out what happens when colors are combined.

Call Number: P J Lio

Martin, B., & Archambault, J. (1989). Chicka chicka boom boom. New York: Simon & Schuster.

What happens when the whole alphabet tries to climb a coconut tree?

Call Number: P J Mar

Neitzel, S., & Parker, N. W. (1989). The jacket I wear in the snow. New York: Scholastic.

A young girl names all the clothes that she must wear to play in the snow.

Call Number: [Big Book] P J Nei

Numeroff, L. J. (1985). If you give a mouse a cookie. New York: Harper & Row.

Expect an unending circle of requests if you give a mouse a cookie.

Call Number: P J Num

Opie, I. A., & Wells, R. (1999). Here comes Mother Goose. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

More than forty traditional nursery rhymes, with big colorful illustrations.

Call Number: j398.8 Mot 1999

Ormerod, J. (1985). Messy baby. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.

Despite Dad’s efforts to keep things neat, baby still makes a big mess.

Call Number: P J Orm

Oxenbury, H. (1983). Helen Oxenbury's ABC of things. New York: Delacorte Press.

Familiar things help to introduce the letters of the alphabet.

Call Number: P J Oxe

Petrie, C., & Snyder, J. (1999). Joshua James likes trucks. New York: Children's Press.

Joshua James likes all kinds of trucks. Spanish edition also available.

Call Number: P J Pet

Potter, B. (1967). The tale of Peter Rabbit. New York: Grolier Society, Incorporated.

Mischievous Peter can't stay away from Mr. McGregor's garden.

Call Number: P J Pot

Rice, E. (1977). Sam who never forgets. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Sam the zookeeper never forgets to feed the animals.

Call Number: P J Ric

Slobodkina, E. (1947). Caps for sale. New York: Scholastic.

Monkeys steal a peddler's caps while he is asleep.

Call Number: P J Slo

Suteev, V., & Dewey, A. (1992). The chick and the duckling. New York: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill.

The chick can do everything the duckling does, until it’s time for a swim.

Call Number: P J Sut

Titherington, J. (1986). Pumpkin, pumpkin. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Jamie plants a pumpkin seed and watches it grow.

Call Number: P J Tit

Wells, R. (1997). Bunny cakes. New York: Dial.

Max and Ruby do some cooking.

Call Number: P J Wel

Wildsmith, B. (1963). ABC. New York: F. Watts.

Animals help to illustrate the letters of the alphabet.

Call Number: P J Wil

Wood, A., & Wood, D. (1984). The napping house. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

A wakeful flea causes a commotion, with just one bite.

Call Number: P J Woo

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