10 Books That Every Toddler Should Have

10 Books Every Toddler Should Own

Reading with your child is one of the most important things you can do for your child. Cuddling up with a book or reading to your kids at bedtime is not just fun by it is a vital part of their development.

Reading to a child can instil in them a love of reading from a young age as they associate it with togetherness with their parents.

Here are ten brilliant books to read with toddlers, full of fun rhymes that they will love to hear and repeat. These are also books that they will want to read for themselves when they begin to learn to read for themselves.

The Gruffalo

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler has quite rightly become a modern classic.

A mouse takes a walk through a wood, saving itself from danger by quick thinking. A funny story that has been turned into a great stage show. See it if you get the opportunity.

The Gruffalo Trunki Ride-On Suitcase

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is the much-loved tale of a boy who dreams himself to an island of friendly monsters. A great read, beautifully illustrated.

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato

I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child. Big brother Charlie finds charming, funny and imaginative solutions to the problem of a fussy eater. Children's Laureate Lauren Child's delightful characters Charlie and Lola have been made into a TV series for the BBC.

While there are dozens of Charlie and Lola books available, this was the first and arguably the best. Well, I used Charlies techniques a couple of times to get the kids to try something...

All Join In

All Join In is a delightful little book by Quentin Blake. Short collection of poems by the writer, artist and former Children's Laureate.

Your children will quickly be able to join in with lots of repetition and sound words.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

In We're Going on a Bear Hunt: Lap Edition by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. a family go off in search of a bear but encounter all sorts of problems.

Get the kids to join in and act out the sticky situations.

Where's My Teddy?

Where's My Teddy? by Jez Alborough. A boy loses his teddy and searches for it in the woods, only to find that a real bear has claimed it! A very funny story.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr is about a rather impolite tiger who comes to tea and eats everything! A sweetly funny story with lovely illustrations.

Winnie the Pooh

The Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne and illustrated by E.H. Shepherd may be more familiar to your children from the Disney animations but the original books are delightful to read and there are many versions that are about right for this age group.

The ubiquitous Winnie the Pooh is loved by children of all ages, as well as lots of grown-ups too!

Related: 10 Books Every Baby Should Own

What's the Time, Mr Wolf?

What's the Time, Mr. Wolf? by Debi Gliori is the story of how the Mr Wolf spends his day by helped by an array of other nursery rhyme characters including the three little pigs and little red riding hood.

As a bonus it s a brilliant book for learning to tell the time too.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish is just one of the many of the books written by Dr Seus, but this is one of the most popular to share with a toddler, full of silly rhymes, a brilliant way to learn about colours, numbers and everyday objects.

A great introduction to the magical world of Dr. Seuss.

10 Books That Every Toddler Should Know