As a mother of a now two-year-old (how did that happen?!?), I wanted to share our favorite story books.  The ones we read over and over and over again.  These books are 100% Carter approved, Carter requested and mom likes the messages too!

Elmer by David McKee

 

Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees

Both Elmer and Giraffes Can’t Dance are books about being different and being happy with who you are.  I actually grew up reading Elmer and it was one of my very favorite stories.  They’re both great talesreinforcing that it’s good to be different and do things your own way.

 

The Trouble with Mom by Babette Cole

The Trouble with Mom is also about being different, but this book highlights mom’s supernatural characteristics and how they’re not only fun but come in handy.  This was another story I loved as a kid!

 

Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever

We also have this book in Spanish.  Carter reads them pretty much every morning in our bed while Scott and I try to catch a few extra Zzzzz’s.  He absolutely loves flipping through the pages.

 

How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague

This book actually came to our home in a box full of books from my mother-in-laws friend!  It’s a great reminder for littles to go to bed without a fuss.  Which as we know from experience is much easier said than done.  We also love How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? which displays good manners at mealtime!

 

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Another good book about bedtime.  Also, because it’s amazing and cracks me up every time, check out Ludacris free styling the story.

 

Potty by Leslie Patricelli

Potty is new favorite in our household.  Although we’re not quite ready for potty training, we love talking about it.  Carter has even memorized a few of the pages and some new words including “tinkle”, “toot” and “undies”!

 

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

Carter’s cousins love the Little Blue Truck books (there are quite a few of them in the series) and the original is a great reminder about being nice and helping others.

 

AlphaBlock by Christopher Franceschelli

And since we’re super into counting and letters these days, AlphaBlock is a book we flip through daily.  It has thick peek-through letters that hint at what’s on the following page, for example a page depicting flour, sugar, a rolling pin and the letter C – is for Cookie on the next page.  I think Carter has memorized a few of them by heart, but he loves looking at this chunky board book and I love that it’s helping him learn the alphabet.  Author Christopher Franceschelli also has CountaBlock, CityBlock and DinoBlock.

 

The Adventures of Taxi Dog by Debra and Sal Barracca

The Adventures of Taxi Dog is about a stray dog in New York City who finds a friend and a home with Jim the taxi driver who adopts him.  The duo drive all over Manhattan seeing the sights and interacting with an array of customers.  Carter loves “doggies” and therefore Maxi in the taxi makes our Top 10 Toddler Reads List!

 

On me:  Striped Pajama Top and Shorts || On Carter:  Organic Stripe Footed Pajamas

I’d love to know…  What are your child’s favorite books?