20 Great Books for Baby (That You'll Love Too!)

We have an enormous library for Kit thanks to all of our family and friends. Instead of receiving cards at my baby shower, my sister asked everyone to give us books for Kit! Here are some of our favorites:

1.

Feminist Baby by Loryn Brantz

Loryn Brantz is an illustrator and design professional who worked for Sesame Street before writing her first book in 2011. She also wrote the article "If Disney Princesses Had Realistic Waistlines," which is gone now, but here's women reacting to the differences.

Anyway, about the book: Feminist Baby is about a typical baby- she chooses what to wear, and she likes pink AND blue. Kit's aunts, Joy and Alex, got this book for her for Valentine's Day and it's one of her favorites. I love the message- feminist baby can be whatever she dreams- and Kit loves the art and the rhymes. We always pose as Rosie the Riveter at the end of the book.

There are also Feminist Baby Finds Her Voice, He's a Feminist Too!, and Grab Life By the Balls, which most definitely not a kid's book, but a book of advice from a witty cupcake.


2.

Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

My awesome friends Cassie and Andrew got this book for Kit for her first birthday. Cassie has a serious knack for picking out books for people! We actually had to replace it because Kit looked at it so often it fell apart! She loves dogs and Biscuit has a special place in her heart. In this particular book, it's time for Biscuit to go to bed, but he's not ready. Sound familiar?

3.

Lucha Libre by Patty Rodriguez & Ariana Stein

Frida by Patty Rodriguez & Ariana Stein

La Catrina by Patty Rodriguez & Ariana Stein

Patty Rodriguez and Ariana Stein partnered on many Lil' Libros books, which are written in both English and Spanish. Lucha Libre book teaches anatomía (anatomy) including: cabeza (head), ojos (eyes), orejas (ears), nariz (nose), and ombligo (belly button). It has been really helpful for teaching Kit basic anatomy in both languages, as she can now point to these body parts regardless of which language you ask in. We also have and recommend Contando con Frida (Counting with Frida, which is about none other than Frida Khalo), and and La Catrina Emociones (Emotions). They have many other great books that we just haven't been able to get yet.

4. 

Alphabet by Matthew Van Fleet

My cousin Loretta and her husband Cole got this for Kit for our baby shower. ❤️ Kit adores this book and it is a pretty solid book. I have had to glue the warthog's head back on a few times, and the beaks from the nightingales, but considering how often she looks at this one by herself, it's stayed intact quite well! Jared bought Bullfrog, also by Matthew van Fleet, but the huge eyes and big mouth scared Kit, and her fear only intensified when she put it on the Roomba, trying to get away from it, and the Roomba turned on and began to "chase" her.

I felt like a horrible mom, but I definitely laughed a little bit once she realized the Bullfrog couldn't eat her. We still can't read it to her because it's just too scary. So just stick with Alphabet, you won't be disappointed.

5.

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?

Another gift from the baby shower, from my friend Suzy, Mr. Brown is a hit with Kit and has been a great help with her expressive speech!

6.

Little Fox Goes to the End of the World by Ann Tompert

Little Fox is bored, waiting for her mother to finish sewing her coat, so her mother asks her what she will do when she travels the world and Little Fox tells her mother a story involving mean monkeys, fierce alligators, and one-eyed cats. This one is from Kit's godmother, my sister. It is pretty long for a picture book, so we sometimes skip a few pages, but it's definitely a special one to us. 

7. 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?

I am pretty sure I don't need to remind you that this one exists :) but I will say that it's great for bilingual kids because of the pattern of the words and the simple, but memorable, pictures. It's also an easy one to sign along to if you are doing Signed Exact English, ASL, or baby sign.

8. 

Snuggle Puppy! by Sandra Boynton

A gift from my grandparents, this is one that we read frequently before bedtime. Snuggle Puppy's parent tells Snuggle Puppy all about how much he or she is loved. 

9. 

Sweet Dreams, Cthulhu, by Jason Ciaramella & Greg Murphy

My sister-in-law, Andrea, got this for Kit for my baby shower. I was a little hesitant to read it to Kit because I thought she might think Cthulhu was scary, but that was entirely in my head, and instead she loves it! There is also C is for Cthulhu. 

10. 

We Don't Eat our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

My mother-in-law, Wendy, got this for Kit when she was going through a biting phase. Penelope Rex is a little T-rex starting school. On her first day, she finds out there are delicious children in her class, but she finds out they don't want to be her friend when she tries to eat them. It's cute, hilarious, and not scary at all. 

11. 

Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast by Josh Funk, BJ Novak's childhood best friend

Lady and Pancake and Sir French Toast race to get to the last drop of syrup in the fridge. Along the way, they will learn an important lesson about working together. There is also The Case of the Stinky Stench, Mission Defrostable, and Short & Sweet, which are also about the dynamic breakfast duo and their further adventures. This one is also a gift from Wendy.

And if you don't know who BJ Novak is, please drop everything and go watch The Office, but only the American version.

via GIFER

12.

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Astrophysics for Babies by Chris Ferrie and Julia Kregenow

My grandparents got this book for Kit for Christmas. It's a very simple explanation of atoms and the solar system. We really loved this because it's a cute, simple introduction to science and non-fiction for babies! Chris Ferrie also wrote Organic Chemistry for Babies, ABCs of Biology, Neural Networks for Babies, 8 Little Planets, ABCs of Mathematics, and many others. A lot of them are non-fiction for babies, but there is also Goodnight Lab, which is a parody on Goodnight Moon, and Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You see? Julia Kregenow also wrote Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, I Know Exactly What You Are with Carmen Saldana.


13.

The Wheels on the Bus/Las Ruedas del Autobús by Laura Zarrin was a gift from my father-in-law and stepmother-in-law, Jay and Veronica. Kit loves learning the words in both English and Spanish and the movements to the songs really ties it together. I love the activities at the end of the book.


14.

The Paper Bag Princess

This was another baby shower gift from Kit's aunts, Alex & Joy. Do you sense a theme? ;) The Paper Bag Princess was actually written in 1980, which surprised me, but it's still on trend. It tells the story of Elizabeth, a princess who bravely rescues her jerk of a boyfriend in nothing but a paper bag. When he rejects her rescue efforts on the basis that she doesn't look like a princess, "they don't get married after all." I was also able to find an unabridged version in Spanish!

15. 

Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang

Jim Panzee wakes up in a bad mood. Everyone tries to make him feel better, but sometimes you just need to accept negative feelings. This was also courtesy of Joy and Alex. 

16. 

Good Night, New Mexico by Mark Jasper and Adam Gamble

Mark Jasper has written a lot of books for different regions, including Colorado, Michigan, and Paris. I haven't read any of them but this one. It's neat to be able to instill an appreciation of New Mexico in Kit, even though we live far away now.

17. 

Global Babies by The Global Fund for Children

We don't own this one, but I wish we did! We found it at the library. It's great to see a representation of so many different cultures. Of course, Kit is mostly excited about the other babies. 

18. 

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss

Another one I don't own, but I am definitely intending to get it. I bought a copy for my nieces when it first came out and I think they liked it. Marlon Bundo is a lonely little bunny living in the home of Vice President Mike Pence. Marlon meets another little bunny named Wesley. A stinkbug objects to their marriage because "boy bunnies only marry girl bunnies," but Wesley and Marlon marry anyway, with the support of their friends. Profits from this book go to The Trevor Project and AIDS United!

19.

Homemade Love by Bell Hooks

What happens if you make a mistake? Will your parents still love you? Of course, we know that the answer is yes, but maybe our kiddos don't. Girlpie figures it out in this charming book. 

20. 

Babies Love... Lift-a-Flap Books

Kit loves these lift-a-flap books. They're cute, easy to fit in a diaper bag, filled with cute little animals, and easy for little hands to use. They're also durable as heck; Kit dropped hers in the rain, then it got ran over by a car. And yet it's still in great condition! 

If you're able to, please consider buying from your local bookstore. Indiebound makes it easy to buy local, and if you're not able to buy local, Bookshop (US only) and Thriftbooks are both great places to buy. Bookshop supports local bookstores even when you're not able to buy from them.

I do have an affiliate link for Bookshop, where all these books (and more!) are listed. I earn 10% commission if you purchase any books from my list, and gives a matching 10% to independent bookstores. So far, Bookshop has earned $1,654,504.2 for local bookstores! This is an awesome second choice if you're not able to buy the book you want locally.