![]() | Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $4.99 The best book I have found for ages 1-3. big pictures, good motions, fun to look at and point at. This is a sure-fire hit in storytimes and the one I would buy for any one-year old. My daughter loves it, as does every boy I have introduced it to.
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![]() | A Good Day by Kevin Henkes
Buy new: $12.23 / Used from: $3.65 A beautiful, simple book, with bright clear pictures. Always a hit.
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![]() | Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards)) by Mo Willems
Buy new: $9.35 / Used from: $6.94 Simple, bold pictures, a story the children associate with, and predictability. My daughter loved to point out the parents in this one, too.
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![]() | Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
Buy new: $11.53 / Used from: $3.56 Also available as a board book, this one is great up to age 5 or even 6. Rhyming and repetition keep the little ones involved, and the large, appealing pictures are great, too.
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![]() | The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Buy used from: $14.96 What would this list be without the standard. Carle's most famous book is also still his best. Colors, foods, counting, appealing pictures. It has it all. Expect it to be a favorite through early elementary school.
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![]() | I Went Walking by Sue Williams
Buy new: $10.88 / Used from: $0.42 I love this book. Julie Vivas's illustrations are just luminous, the simple predictable text works with toddlers through pre-readers, and the visual clues in the pictures are great. It is also a available as a board book, and works with babies on up.
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![]() | BooBoo (Gossie & Friends) by Olivier Dunrea
Buy new: $9.95 / Used from: $0.01 All of the Gossie and Gertie's are great. Small trim size, simple stories, clear pictures, with little animals on many pages. They are all great, but this one is my favorite.
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![]() | Who Ate All the Cookie Dough? by Karen Beaumont
Buy new: $11.53 / Used from: $0.35 The repetition, easily identified animals, and final flap and boo at the end make this one a sure-fire hit.
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![]() | Two Little Trains by Margaret Wise Brown
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $1.91 Simple repetitive and beautifully illustrated by the Dillons, this is one of my favorite train books. The Dillons add to the story by depicting one train as a passenger train and the other as a toy train, on facing pages. Lovely.
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![]() | Silly Sally by Audrey Wood
Buy used from: $198.67 One of my personal favorites. It is funny, has predictability, it rhymes, and hey, it is just plain wacky fun.
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![]() | Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
Buy new: $10.88 / Used from: $7.46 A beautiful match of art and text. Simple, predictable, and so lovely to look at. A winner.
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![]() | Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton
Buy new: $5.99 / Used from: $0.01 Predictable, fun, and safe for little hands. Funny for the adults, too. You really can't go wrong with any Boynton. Hippos Go Berserk and Barnyard Dance are also favorites.
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![]() | Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton
Buy new: $10.87 / Used from: $4.88 Simple story, clear, large pictures, a truck that saves the school bus. It also has great endpapers. What more could you ask for?
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![]() | My Very First Mother Goose
Buy new: $15.63 / Used from: $0.10 Every child should have a mother goose, and this is my pick for their first one. The pictures are large and appealing, the font is big and easily read by bleary-eyes parents, and Rosemary Well's trademark animals will keep them turning the pages. There are lots of familiar rhymes in here, as well as some lesser-known gems. Every family should own this.
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![]() | Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming
Buy new: $7.95 / Used from: $1.75 Fleming's color saturated illustrations are eye catching, and the simple story, with predictability works well. Lots of fun.
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![]() | How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen
Buy new: $9.93 / Used from: $2.99 A great book. Dinosaurs, bedtime, an interactive component. Have fun finding all of the little details in the pictures and the names of all of the dinosaurs!
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![]() | Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Rod Campbell
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $2.47 This belongs in every toddler's library. It will go on my 0-1 list as well, but the 1-3's love it. Sturdy flaps, predictability, recognizable animals. It's a winner.
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![]() | Where's Spot (color) by Eric Hill
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $0.01 The flaps are a bit delicate, but it is worth it. the board book format is best, as it is sturdiest. Little ones love looking under the flaps and identifying all of the animals. Sure to be a hit.
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![]() | If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Yes, it is a commercialized one, but it is hit. The later ones are not nearly as good, but this one really works. Predictability, a cute mouse and cookies. Need I say more?
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![]() | From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
Buy used from: $16.30 Fun, interactive, animal and body part recognition. Carle does it again.
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![]() | Walk With Me! (Fun First Steps) (Lift the Flap) by Stella Blackstone
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $0.88 A sturdy multicultural board book, with sturdy flaps, a predictable story, and easily identifiable animals. It works really well.
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![]() | Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara
Buy new: $10.36 / Used from: $2.31 A simple story, not too scary, nice contrast. Works well for Halloween, and the rest of the year!
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![]() | Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler
Buy new: $10.88 / Used from: $2.50 Okay, maybe it was just my child, but the repetition, rhyme, rhythm and musicality of this one really caught her. Try it.
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![]() | Leaves by David Ezra Stein
Buy new: $7.99 This one is more for the 2-3 age, but the simple story and appealing pictures will catch their interest, and it is a great way to introduce seasons.
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![]() | The Little Red Caboose (Little Golden Book) by Marian Potter
Buy new: $3.99 / Used from: $0.01 While it isn't a library book, and the pictures are definitely not PC, I cannot tell you how much my daughter loves this book. She can "read" it word for word.
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![]() | Big Little by Leslie Patricelli
Buy new: $8.26 / Used from: $2.30 These books are a great way to do opposites with little ones. They love figuring out all of the pictures.
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![]() | Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?: 40th Anniversary Edition (Brown Bear and Friends) by Bill Martin Jr.
Buy new: $18.45 / Used from: $12.89 If you can stand to read it a zillion times, go for it. It is sure to be a hit.
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Listmania!

























