One of things I want to cultivate most in Jojo is a love of reading. I absolutely love to read (and have ever since I was a kid), and I believe so strongly in the power of books\u2013to educate, to entertain, to be a source of independent activity and comfort. <\/p>\n We read to her *a lot* and have been ever since she was a teeny tiny baby. And now, it does feel very satisfying when she picks up a book on her own or when she asks us to read a book to her! A few of my favorite bibliophile moves thus far: having bookshelves in her room<\/a> and more in the living room<\/a> that are easily accessible to her and having custom bookplates<\/a> made (and probably eventually an embosser<\/a>). I also stole this idea from my friend Kate, who did it for us, but for my closest friends who have a baby\u2013they get Jojo\u2019s Book Club, which is a book a month sent to them every month for the first year (I still dream of a way to make Jojo\u2019s Book Club a business, tbh). Another fantastic thing that my sister-in-law did for us is put in a huge order of her kids\u2019 tried-and-true books for us to pick up at our local bookstore: a great way to support a local independent bookstore while also avoiding dealing with media mail shipping fees. And while we haven\u2019t done this yet, I also love the idea of asking everyone to bring a used book to a birthday party and doing a book swap in place of gifts (I truly hate gift and goody bag culture so truly anything I can do to avoid).<\/p>\n With all of that in mind, many of our favorite books below: of course, all of these ebb and flow, but many of these have stood the test of time. Although I do very much recommend utilizing the book storage in the back of the Montessori bookshelves and\/or figuring out a way to be able to swap books in and out (also our toy approach!) so that you can benefit from books feeling \u201cnew\u201d even if they aren\u2019t. And, of course, it goes without saying that we *love* our local library\u2013not just for all of the books, but also the story times, coloring books and toys on offer. And a quick note that although I\u2019ve linked on Amazon below, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND AND ENCOURAGE YOU to buy books from an independent bookstore\u2013especially during the holiday season, when they make the bulk of their money! My personal favorites: The Book Catapult<\/a> in San Diego, Books Are Magic<\/a> and the Strand Book Store<\/a> in NYC and Powell\u2019s City of Books<\/a> in Portland\u2013and they all ship! And have truly excellent merch in addition to books! <\/p>\n <\/p>\n No surprises here: we are big dog lovers in this house, and I wanted that reflected on our bookshelves! It\u2019s very hard for me to pass up a good one, and luckily, Jojo absolutely loves them. My go-to \u201ccongratulations on the baby\u201d gift is a copy of Pig the Pug<\/a>, and Dog\u2019s First Baby<\/a> if they have a dog at home. If they\u2019re cat people, I\u2019ll swap it with Cat\u2019s First Baby<\/a>. Other favorite dog books include Hot Dog<\/a>, I Want 100 Dogs<\/a>, Can I Be Your Dog?<\/a>, Emma Full of Wonders<\/a> (Jojo\u2019s current favorite!) and D is For Dog<\/a>. Pug is Happy<\/a> is obviously a great one for puggers, but it\u2019s especially nice to talk about emotions AND has a working mom subplot.<\/p>\n Although I was a picky eater as a kid, we are doing our best to expose Jojo to a variety of new foods and encourage a curiosity about eating. I definitely give Artichoke to Zucchini<\/a> some credit in that: it\u2019s this gorgeous illustrated dictionary of foods, and it\u2019s given me some inspiration on new foods to introduce. We also love Can You Eat?<\/a> and Yum Yummy Yuck<\/a>! <\/p>\n Although Jojo is a San Diegan through and through, she is half New Yorker and we feel very strongly about making sure she knows and loves her New York roots. Between annual trips to the city, we try to keep up that New York City love through books like Subway<\/a>, How Little Lori Visited Time Square<\/a>, B is For Bagel<\/a> (foodie crossover!) and My First Book of New York<\/a>. New York: A World of Colors<\/a> is a little simple but also fun.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a sucker for a creative use of a flap in a book, and obviously, these are always the biggest hits with kids! We especially love Who Am I?<\/a>, Dear Zoo<\/a>, Do Cows Meow?<\/a>, Do Crocs Kiss?<\/a> and Mail Duck<\/a> (my personal sleeper hit, especially if you are a devotee of snail mail). Lemons Are Not Red<\/a> doesn\u2019t have flaps, but has some very clever cutouts.<\/p>\n My mom saved a ton of my childhood books, so many of Jojo\u2019s books have *my* childhood bookplate on them. A few of those that are absolutely in the rotation: Good Night Moon<\/a>, Love You Forever<\/a> (although wow I cannot get through it without tears now) and The Giving Tree<\/a>. <\/p>\n And while I didn\u2019t discover these ones until having Jojo, I think they\u2019ll stand the test of time: Little Blue Truck<\/a>, Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site<\/a>, My Very Own Special Particular Private and Personal Cat<\/a> and Fortunately<\/a> (I actually found this in a bookstore after a couple of cocktails, and read it and found it so absurd and couldn\u2019t stop laughing and just had to have it).<\/p>\n As I was putting this list together, I realized something: Eric Carle might be my favorite children\u2019s book author of all. The Very Hungry Caterpillar<\/a> inspired Jojo\u2019s second Halloween costume, The Very Busy Spider<\/a> inspired my lifetime love of productivity and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?<\/a> was easily one of Jojo\u2019s first \u201cfavorite\u201d books. From Head to Toe<\/a> is his most underrated one IMO! Hard to go wrong with any of his books.<\/p>\n We potty trained Jojo over the summer (we used the Oh Crap! Potty Training<\/a> method) and it is key to have many a book that helps explain the process AND provide some distraction on the potty. Our favorites are Everyone Poops<\/a>, Once Upon A Potty<\/a> and Big Girl Panties<\/a> for explaining the process; the flaps in P is For Potty<\/a> make it perfect for sitting on the potty. <\/p>\n I recommend having a go-to baby book gift that somewhat represents you\u2013mine is obviously Pig the Pug. However, I also quite like Everywhere Babies<\/a>, You Are New<\/a> and Oh, The Places You\u2019ll Go!<\/a>. I tend to buy several of these at a time, so that I have them ready to go and ship whenever we get the good news that a friend is pregnant! <\/p>\n I don\u2019t know if I can necessarily categorize these, but other books that we just read again and again: Before & After<\/a>, We Are Shapes<\/a>, More More More<\/a>, From Head to Toe<\/a>, The Carrot Seed<\/a>, May I Bring A Friend?<\/a>, and The Littlest Family\u2019s Big Day<\/a>. We also had a Lovevery box subscription for a while (which we liked!), and I\u2019m annoyed that there are no real ways to buy their books outside of having a subscription: Bedtime for Zoe<\/a> and Bea Goes to the Doctor<\/a> are two of our go-to\u2019s.<\/p>\n What are your favorite toddler books? What do I need to add to Jojo\u2019s library?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cestchristine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/61D9F0D0-A1FE-4A4D-87DC-392A3C7FCC71.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\nFor Dog (and Cat) Lovers<\/h2>\n
For Foodies<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\nFor City Folk<\/h2>\n
Interactive<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\nThe (New) Classics<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\nEric Carle<\/h2>\n
Potty Books<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\nBonus: Gifts for Newborns<\/h2>\n
Miscellaneous Favorites<\/h2>\n