Are you looking for the best books for two-year-olds? Do you have a busy toddler in your life? They may be a grandchild, a niece, a nephew or a friend, but whoever they are, they are lucky to have someone like you to give them books and read with them.

Did you know one of the greatest indicators of academic success is the number of books in a child’s house? Just think how you are preparing them for the future by giving them the tools they need to build literacy skill, empathy, spoken language and cognition, by filling their shelves with books that they’ll love.

Best Books for Two Year Olds – Lift the Flaps

Lift the Flaps add to the excitement and enjoyment of a book for a two-year-old. It’s like opening a present on every page! While your two-year-old may not have the self-control not to rip the flaps, with your supervision they can learn to look after their books, and a piece of sticky tape or two can go a long way to repair any flaps that are damaged. My recommendations for lift the flap books are:

• The Spot stories by Eric Hill
• Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell 
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Open the Barn Door by Christopher Santoro
• Who Lives Here? by Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb
• Slinky Malinki’s Christmas Eve by Lynley Dodd
• Hide and Seek on the Farm by Axel Scheffler
• Baby’s First Wild Animals by Imagine That
• Miffy the Artist by Dick Bruna
• Bluey: The Beach by Puffin
• Peppa Pig: At the Zoo by Penguin Books
• Hairy Maclary Hide and Seek by Lynley Dodd
• Little Explorers Things that Go!
• Aussie Animals by Rod Campbell

These books are so well loved that you’ll have to read them over and over again, but they are so well written hopefully you won’t mind. Some have perfect rhythm and rhyme, others are about a journey, others have great repetition and patterns. The best thing about books for this age is that many end with the characters being tucked up safely in bed, just as your little one is nodding off to sleep.

• We’re going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
• The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
• The Very Angry Bear by Nick Bland (and all others in the series.)
• Grug by Ted Prior (and all others in the series.)
• Are you my Mother? by P.D. Eastman
• Errol by Zanni Louise
• A Bird in the Herd by Kat Apel and Renee Treml
• Peepo by Janet Ahlberg
• Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andereae
• Hairy MacClary by Lynley Dodd
• Skadoodle and Snugs Magnificent Plan by Caroline Tuohey and Karen Sagovac
• Tip Toe Tiger by Jane Clarke and Britta Teckentrup
• Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Dusky Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld
• The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
• Terrific Trains by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker (and all others in the series)

Best Books for Two-Year-Olds – Interactive

Finally, there are some great books where the child participates in the story, by clapping or shaking or blowing. Most famous of these is ‘Press Here’ by Herve Tullet. He has also published ‘Draw Here’ and ‘Let’s Play’ and ‘Tap Tap Tap.’ Also look for ‘Tap the Magic Tree’ by Christie Matheson, ‘Don’t Press the Button’ by Bill Cotter and sound books where children press different buttons to make sounds that match the pictures they see in the book. Usbourne have a musical book series and a noisy series, like noisy diggers, noisy dinosaurs and noisy tractor. These fun stories add another dimension to their reading experience, where children feel powerful and involved in what appears on the page.

I hope these lists have helped you find the perfect book for the toddler in your life. Keep an eye out for my upcoming picture book, ‘Grabble the Dinosaur’ which is also a great read for children this age. Click here to check out my other publications.