Great Board Books To Read With A 1-Year-Old

My 1-year-old baby girl absolutely loves reading board books.

I have been reading to her pretty much since birth.

I did the same thing with my older daughter when she was a baby and continue to do so even now that she is almost 4.

And she also loves reading books.

In fact, I’m pretty sure that the reason that my older daughter loves books is that I started early on reading to her.

Reading is a part of her bedtime routine.

And it has also become a part of my baby girl’s bedtime routine.

She has figured out that after they brush their teeth, her big sister will head into their room to pick out a book.

So she has also started to do the same by picking out a book of her own.

I will go into more detail in a future blog post about my girl’s bedtime routine, but every night, both girls will pick out books to read for that night.

I will read one and then follow up with the other one so that both books get read.

Once both books have been read, we will put the girls to bed.

Earlier this year, I shared some black children’s books that are great for toddlers and preschoolers and I know many of you appreciated that list.

Well, I want to also share some books that my baby has been loving.

If you are interested in some great board books for a 1-year-old, then just keep reading.

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Why Should You Read To A 1-Year-Old?

Before I get into some of the board books that I like to read with my baby girl, let’s answer this question.

Why should you read to a 1-year-old?

This was a great question that was posed over at Teaching Littles and I found myself trying to genuinely answer this question.

According to the readers over at Teaching Littles, there are many benefits to exposing books to your little ones at a young age.

Those benefits include:

• Increasing the size of your toddler’s vocabulary 
• Teaching children how to use words properly 
• Beginning the process of phonemic awareness (understanding that words are made of smaller sounds)
• Teaching your toddler that the letters and marks on the page are words 
• Helping your child learn the alphabet

I can attest to these benefits because I have seen them manifest within my 3-year-old.

We are currently preparing my daughter for preschool and one of the ways we do that is by going to the weekly storytimes at our local library and reading books.

At the age of 3, I can read her book and she will virtually read it back to me because she memorizes what I say while reading and associates certain words with certain objects she sees on the page.

Reading books at a younger age not only helped her with talking but also expanded the vocabulary that she was developing.

I’m hoping that doing the same with my 1-year-old will get her started talking and developing her vocabulary as well.

Now that we know why you should read to a 1-year-old, let’s get into some great board books that you can read with a 1-year-old.

Great Board Books To Read With A 1-Year-Old

Noisy Baby Animals

The first board I want to mention is Noisy Baby Animals.

I had this book previously with my older daughter when she was a baby and she loved it so I figured that her baby sister would too.

And I was right.

This is a great sensory book that invokes the different senses such as touching, seeing, and hearing.

This book is filled with different baby animals from puppies to kittens and even baby elephants.

Along with seeing the animals, each page allows you to feel the texture of what the animal feels like as well as hear what they sound like.

When my younger daughter goes to pick out a book at night, there is a good chance that she will pick this one.

Noisy Farm

Another Noisy book that we own is Noisy Farm.

This is written and illustrated in the same way as Noisy Baby Animals.

Since my daughter loves Noisy Baby Animals so much, we went ahead and grabbed this book as well.

Which is also a book that she loves.

This book features all the farm animals from pigs to cows to chickens.

Much like the previous book, each page provides a way for your little ones to feel what each animal feels like as well as what they sound like.

See, Touch, Feel

The next book I want to mention is See, Touch, Feel.

If you have been keeping up with the blog, then you may remember this book from my post on some floor activities that I did with my then 8-month-old baby.

Sensory board books are such good books to utilize with 1-year-olds because their little brains are literally absorbing everything through their senses.

Most sensory board books are interactive so it gives your little one an opportunity to touch and interact with the book.

This book falls right in that category as well.

The difference with this book is that it does not make any sounds like the Noisy books from above.

One of the things that I love about this book is that at the very end, there is a mirror so your baby can look at themselves.

My daughter has reached the phase where she recognizes herself in the mirror and begins smiling at herself.

So when we get to the end of the book, she gets really happy because she sees herself.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

A classic board book that every young child should have in their at-home library is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

This is also a book that we have had since my 3-year-old was a baby.

And she has really started to get into even more now that she understands what is happening while reading it.

But not only does my older daughter love it, but so does my 1-year-old.

I like to read this book in an animated manner so it grabs her attention and she loves watching my face as I talk about everything this tiny and hungry caterpillar is eating.

This is also a great book for counting so I like to take the time to count each of the items as I’m reading so that she is hearing my count out loud.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Another great Eric Carle book that we added to our library once my baby girl got here is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Much like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I like to read this book in an animated manner and make animal noises for each animal on the page.

This book is also great for naming the colors of each animal, so as I’m reading this book to her, I will point out the colors so she is hearing me say them out loud.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Speaking of classic books, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a classic that both of my girls have been loving.

This book brings back so many memories for me because I also grew up on this book.

The catchy rhymes that this book has are sure to lure your little ones in while you are reading it.

Not to mention, you are going through the alphabet as you do so they will begin to grasp the letters after a while.

My older daughter likes to hum this tune and say it at bedtime every night.

Goodnight Moon

Switching gears to some great bedtime board books to read to a 1-year-old, I feel like I have to start with Goodnight Moon.

Another classic tale that many kids, including myself, enjoy reading.

This is also one of my 3-year-old daughter’s favorite books.

When I used to read this book to her as a baby, I would wave at the book as I said goodnight to the items on the page.

She started copying me and was waving at everything in the book.

My 1-year-old has recently started waving so I have been doing the same with her when reading this book.

She really gets a kick out of waving so reading this book has been really fun for her.

Good Night Sophie

If you read my post on some of the developmental activities I did with my then 4-month-old, then you will have seen the book Good Night Sophie in there.

This is still a staple in our book collection.

I like that this book is really simple and short so it doesn’t require holding your little one’s attention for very long.

I’m sure many of you have realized just how short your baby’s attention span is so if it’s a long book, you will likely lose their attention halfway through the book.

That is less likely to happen with this book.

This book also doubles as a touch and feel with different textures on each page that your little can touch as you are reading.

Going To Bed Book

If you are a fan of the Sandra Boynton children’s books, be sure to grab the Going To Bed Book for your kiddos.

This is a great book to read at nighttime with your little ones.

It also rhymes throughout the book which makes it fun to read.

There is also a part in the book where the animals get up to exercise so you can encourage your little ones to get up and stretch during this part.

And then it winds back down and finishes off with all animals going to sleep for the night.

Llama Llama Red Pajama

Next up is a Llama Llama Red Pajama.

We were actually introduced to this book at the library and once I realized the girls loved it, I went and grabbed it for our home library.

This is another great book that rhymes throughout which makes it a fun read.

I know that there are many other books in the Llama Llama series, but this is our favorite one.

Bedtime For Zoe

And the last board book that I want to mention here that is great for a 1-year-old is Bedtime For Zoe.

This book came in our recent Loevery Play Kit.

One of the birthday gifts that my 1-year-old received was The Babbler Play Kit.

Every play kit comes with a book and this was the book that came in this kit.

Bedtime is something that we have been working on with my 1-year-old so this is a great book that goes through a routine while keeping it simple enough to hold the attention of your little one.

At the moment, you can only grab this book with the purchase of The Babbler Play Kit so I will link the play kit below.

Your Turn

Well, those are some of the board books that I like to read with my 1-year-old. I want to hear from you all now. What are some good board books that you like to read with your 1-year-old toddler? Let me know in the comments and while you are still here, be sure to check out my previous post below. Until next time!

• Read More: Preparing My 3-Year-Old For Preschool

Love,

Just Jass