Books are our go to from learning something new to exploring to having fun. This particular bingo was a fun one for us because we chose our own theme. As a toddler mom, I was clear on the theme as soon as the bingo was announced, search-and-seek, a theme to keep the toddlers engaged. Engaging toddlers is not fun but once engaged, kids at this stage are like sponge that can soak and learn so much that as a parent you are left amazed. Here are our most loved and enjoyed interactive books for toddlers that make it to our daily reading list.
I would like to add, majority of these books (Igloo, Autumn Publishing & Parragon Publishing) were grabbed from the Parragon Publishing sale directly from their website (this is the kbc affiliate link to order) – when you use KBC20 coupon code you get a flat 20% off across their website. KBC has such amazing publisher partners and we kbc members are lucky to be able to get such incredible deals!
ADDED BY ASHA: PARRAGON PUBLISHING MONSOON OFFER FROM AUG 6-20, 2024 – click this link and be sure to use KBC20 for a flat 20% discount.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- 10% discount on all titles of 395 and above.
- Bookmarks and Ninja caps are free with all orders placed during the specified dates.
- For bulk purchases of 10 or more qty, an additional 10% discount will be added to customer total. (This extra 10% discount will be displayed in the cart.)
- Pouches are complimentary with titles under Mattel. Example: Barbie, Hot wheels and Thomas
1. Press the Button (not a sound book) – Don’t push the button
If we count the number of times we say no or our toddler says no to us, the number will be match the number of stars in the galaxy. This fun book is about Larry who has just one request for the reader, don’t push the button. But the moment you say no, what does your child do first? Exactly what they are not supposed to do. This book feels like magic because each time the child touches the button something fun happens. Little S cannot stop giggling as the fun unfolds. Read out loud with this book and enjoy the fun.
2. Carousel Board Book – My first animal play book
Is your child curious about animals? Are they into search and find? Is hide and seek their favourite game? Are they on their tummy and just looking curiously? If the answer is yes to any of these, this is your go-to book. Each page has some animals that the kids need to identify and they include farm animals to wild animals to ocean life. But the fun is on the last page, where each childoo is left engaged.
3. Touch and feel – Fire engine saves the day
A must for childoos who are into cars and trucks. This is a fun story of how a fire engine helps a monster truck find his friends. This is also a great touch and feel book. The vibrant colors and the story of looking for one’s friends to play helps kids get introduced to the concept of friendship. Recommended only for kids that are past the chewing phase.
4. Foldable board book – Alphabet Alligator
Once little S turned 18 months old, I could see her interest grow in learning alphabets and numbers. This uniquely designed foldable book is in the shape of alligator. The alphabets are written in both lower and upper case. I can see this book grow with little S over the next year or two as she learns her alphabets and also learns to differentiate between upper/lower case.
5. Foldable board book – Counting Caterpillar
Similar to the folding alligator, this is folding caterpillar. The numbers are spelled as well as listed in this fun looking book. Little S opens this book at least once a day to count (but secretly to just open and fold the caterpillar)
6. Touch and feel – First learning shapes (tiny tots learn)
We were given a toy when little S was 6 months old to sort shapes. While she figured the toy out by the age of 18 months, she didn’t learn the shapes. That’s where this book looked interesting to me. The child will learn to relate the shape with their surroundings like a window or a picture is a square. Followed by an activity to find and count the number of square presents. Little S enjoys counting and finding things while also quietly observing the surroundings.
7. Search and seek – Look and find words (tiny tots wipe clean)
Hands down Little S’s favourite book since she turned 2. A must have for toddlers. This book is a great combination of getting them to search objects on a page, mark them with a pen and also count when there are multiple objects of the same type. And cherry on the top is, you need a wet towel to wipe it down and have it ready for another round.
8. Search and seek – Hide and seek dinosaur
Is your toddler into peekaboo or hide and seek games? If yes, don’t miss this cute book where a dinosaur is looking for his friend dinosaurs. Every page, the Dino finds another dino and in the event they celebrate a birthday party. We have been using this book to introduce the concept of dinosaurs to our little one.
9. Search and seek – Follow that Sausage Dog
We won this Igloo book as part of our KBC Book Bingo 2023 from Parragon Publishing. The quality and the fun this book brought with it makes it a must have. What we love about this book is the child looking for the sausage dog who runs off with a balloon. Since little S loves the concept of balloons and cakes, she always exclaims in her toddler language – dog balloon look, which when translated means, the dog ran away with the balloon. Let’s search. The book ends with a heart touching message that the sausage dog did everything to be included in the party.
10. Pull the tab – Who am I? Magical friends
Do you have a childoo who loves unicorns? Does the childoo also love pull the tab books? And do they like to spot things and count them too? If the answer to these is yes, then this book is for you. We love spending time pulling the tab and also counting different things. This book has very few words per page which is ideal for the easily distractible toddlers. The counting and spotting of birds, snowmen, etc. keep them engaged and interested in the fun.
11. Maze board book – Space maze explorer
A great book to keep the toddler hands busy. This book is perfect for 2+ year olds as they engage with the little character that is ready to explore space. Each page has a course to complete using the character while matching colors and counting spaceships and aliens. This is a fun introduction to space for little minds that love fun characters, are learning colors and are intrigued by something new.
12. Push and pull tabs – A busy day for little lion
We love this push and pull book because it helps develop motor skills for kids while each page teaches them a new concept. Some pages are about colors while others are about number counting. Add a bit of creativity and this is a sure shot way of playing with a happy toddler. Bonus point if your child loves animals, then they will get to learn about them too.
13. Lift the flap – Lift the flap (opposites) from Wonder House Books
Every toddler parent will agree, with almost minimal attention span keeping the toddlers busy is the best investment they can make. This book is right there. Not only it keeps the toddler hands busy but also their mind engaged as they learn opposites while lifting flaps. The flaps are sturdy so the chances of them ripping it out is negligible.
14. Peek-through – Are you there little owl?
Our first peep-through book. We use it in different ways to keep little S busy searching for the little owl. But other than that we spot different things like firefly, trace out paths with fingers, talk about textures and also play peekaboo where little S watches me through the peep holes on different pages. Every toddler should have at least one peep-through book for some fun play.
ADDED BY ASHA: There are quite a few other books in this series called Usborne Little Peep-Through Books. Read a detailed review here if your childoo likes Elephants!
15. Peek-through – I love my mommy
We have a sweet travel story behind buying this book. Little S is a daddy’s girl. She wants her papa wherever he goes. A few weeks before my husband’s work travel, we got this book and added it to our bedtime read. It is a cute peep through book that we made into a peekaboo book but also used it to emphasize how much fun things can be with momma. The introduction to this book, helped S not get distracted by her papa’s absence for 2 weeks and made everything fun for the two of us. Enjoy this book for the fun peek through but also for the bond between a mom and her little one.
[Note from Team Kids Book Café: For your convenience, affiliate links (MARKED IN PINK) to some of the book titles & images have been added to enable you to buy the books from AMAZON, should you wish to! A very small amount of money comes to kidsbookcafe.com when you purchase a book via the amazon affiliate link provided (at absolutely no extra cost to you!). Do let us know if you need information about other children’s books by writing to asha@kidsbookcafe.com.]
