Favorite toddler books

Sorry, no food Friday today... but I've got a fun book post for you all! Enjoy!

I've done other posts in the past about books and how we are book-lovers. This time I will highlight some of our favorite toddler books. Since Christmas is just around the corner, this may spark some ideas for the wee ones in your lives! Books are great since they can be read over & over again, with a small child snuggled on your lap!

What mom hasn't spend hours reading this favorite:

I think at one point we had three copies of "Goodnight Moon", but the lap version (above) was our favorite. I was given this larger book by a friend at a baby shower, and we've read it lots of times. I think we could have a MOPS mom competition to see who has memorized! You can find it in most bookstores, or on Amazon.com here. It is a classic book with bright, colorful pictures and a sweet way to say Goodnight to your child, and their room! If you have not read this one, it is a MUST read!

Another favorite of ours is Jamberry by Bruce Degen. We actually wore our copy out and replaced it!

I think that's a good sign! It has a great rhyme to it, and I have been known to recite it as well... "Quickberry, Quackberry, pick me a blackberry! Trainberry, Trackberry, Clickety-clackberry!"

The author highlights different berries and the boy & bear ride through fountains and mountains of fun!

 My kids have always enjoyed chanting along with "We're going on a Bear Hunt" by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. "We're going on a bear hunt, we're gonna catch a big one, what a beautiful day, we're not scared..." while following along the family as they cross through various terrain to find a bear. After we've read it several times, I like to stop during a sentence and have the child/children fill in my blank. "What a beautiful ____". It is a good beginning reading technique!

This book, "Good Night Gorilla",  we discovered with our youngest daughter. It is a cute book showing zoo animals sneaking out of their cages and into the zookeeper's home! My child always enjoyed saying the "Goodnight, Goodnight, Goodnight" in this fun animal book! They all end up back in their cages, except... well, you'll have to read it! :-D

 I've never read a bad book by Audrey Wood. Two of our favorites by this stellar author (and her husband Don Wood) are below...

THE LITTLE MOUSE,
THE RED, RIPE STRAWBERRY AND
THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR!

THE LITTLE MOUSE, THE RED, RIPE STRAWBERRY AND THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR!--

This one I used to read while teaching toddlers many years ago. The cute mouse (unlike in real life!) is trying to outsmart a bear from eating his red, ripe strawberry! He goes to all lengths to preserve his strawberry, and then he shares it with me! Such a cute, endearing read! It has received the honor of, "I wuv dat book" by my kids at different times!

The Napping House-This sweet book has earned extra exclamations at the end of the lines in the story. The grandma and the boy are napping along with all types of critters on a rainy day. Gradually all the animals end up on the bed, and all of the characters wake up. I add the exclamations, for instance...The mouse who bites the cat, "Rawr!", the cat claws the dog, "Rowf!" It is a fun read, and the kids (and mom) do not tire of it! It is a great read on a rainy day, or a sunny day!

I hope this has helped some of you find a new read to enjoy with a sweet little tot in your life! Let me know if you have any to add...