Y’all know by know how much I love books- ALL books- but board books hold a special place in my heart. They’re so sturdy and colorful and full of the promise of creating little life-long lovers of reading. Plus, there’s nothing better than seeing those cardboard pages in the chubby little hands of your babe! Amiright?
Board books will always remind me of sitting in a rocker with one of my babies in my arms during that special bonding-time before bed, some of my most treasured memories with all three of my kids. Not only are board books nostalgic for me, but they are also important because they’re most likely your child’s first introduction to concepts such as counting, rhyming, colors, and narrative. When I sat down to write this post and I was thinking about my most favorite board books, I was instantly flooded with memories…Q in my arms, giggling to the Belly Button Book and then reaching for her own, Baby Cub trying to recreate my Pout-Pout fish voice from behind her binkie, all snuggled up in my lap in her footie pajamas. Ugh- they’re just the best memories. I’m always so sad when my kids outgrow their board books and want to move on to more advanced books (which, don’t get me wrong- is equally cool and fun but I don’t know- those first formative years are just SO special!)
I’ve always kept a basket of board books next to the rocker in all my babe’s nurseries. I keep about 10 books in there at a time and I like to cycle them out to keep things new and fresh. Of course, my three kids have always had their favorites that HAD to be in the basket at all times, and I’ve loved seeing which books each of my babes has been drawn to over the years. To this day, the girls will thumb through Max’s board book stash and reminisce about which ones they remember and which were their favorites.
Since I feel like I’ve got a pretty good handle on board books by now, and since the options available are almost overwhelming, I figured I’d put together a list of my top 30 most beloved Board Books of all times! (I tried for 20 but just couldn’t do it! Ha!)
- Giraffes Can’t Dance
- I Love You Stinky Face My sister introduced me to this one. My little nephew Grant LOVES when she reads it to him!
- The Pout Pout Fish Quite possibly one of my favorite books to read aloud!
- Baby Lit (We love them ALL! Max’s favorites are Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Wizard of Oz, Around the World in 80 Says, Sherlock Holmes…ok, really- just ALL of them)
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See? Fun to sing along while you read
- Goodnight Gorilla
- How Do Dinosaurs… The whole series is cute but Max loves the “Going to Bed” one
- What a Wonderful World Another one thats fun to read/sing
- The Goodnight Train
- LMNO Peas A sweet & busy alphabet book
- Sandra Boynton ANY SINGLE ONE! All three of my kids grew up on these books and they are so sweet & simple to read. We have quite the collection and love them ALL (I Linked a great boxed starter set) but our favorite favorites are The Belly Button Book, The Going to Bed Book, Moo, Baa, La La La , Are you a Cow? I could go on & on…
- No, David! All of my kids get a kick out of David and his naughty adventures
- Big And Little This one is a bit harder to find for some reason, but you can buy it used on Amazon for super cheap (which is what I linked) but some reason Max LOVES this book and it’s so simple that he has it memorized and goes around the house reciting it!
- We’re Going on a Bear Hunt A classic favorite!
- Mama | Dada These books by Jimmy Fallon are sweet and funny- especially if you’re trying to teach your little one to say “mama” or “dada”
- Baby Beluga another “song to read” book
- Tails I typically shy away from lift-the-flap books that can technically get ruined by little hands, but this one is a super fun sensory book to read together
- Peek-a-Who The “peek-a-boo” idea without the flaps that can get torn off!
- Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site It’s got cars and big machinery- Max loves it
- Little Blue Truck A classic- Max loves this story
- Pantone Colors A gorgeous display of pantone colors
- Hello, World! (This is an incredible educational series with the most captivating illustrations! My nephew loves the Solar System one, and Max loves the My Body one!
- Quiet, Loud Funny illustrations, teaches sound opposites
- The Napping House One of the most beautifully illustrated books- it been a favorite of mine from back when I used to be a nanny
- Piggies another one of my absolute favorites from the couple who did The Napping House- this is the most fun little book about your ten little fingers with the most incredibly captivating illustrations!
- The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom A fun, rhyming alphabet book
- On the Night you were Born My mom and dad recorded this story in one of those Hallmark books when Q was born, so it will forever be so special to me
- Guess How Much I Love You?
- Big Red Barn a classic
