📚 Raising Little Readers: My Toddler's Favorite Books (and Why They Actually Work)

Still BeKoming a Reader… one bedtime story at a time.

Hey mama 👋🏾

If you're like me, reading to your toddler sounds cute in theory… until you’re running on 2 hours of sleep, your baby is chewing on page corners, and you're trying to sound excited about Brown Bear for the 58th time. 😩

But hear me out: reading early works.

I started reading to my girls before they could even sit up — not because I had it all together, but because I knew I wanted this to be part of our home. And now? My toddler asks to read. That’s wild.

The Backstory (because you know I’ve got one)

Picture this: I'm in my early twenties, sitting in a church pew, half-listening to a sermon and half-daydreaming about lunch. Then the pastor says something that stops me in my tracks:

“Let your children catch you reading — not just the Bible, but actual books.”

That hit deep.

I thought, “One day, my kids are going to watch everything I do. I want them to see a mom who loves reading.”

Fast forward to marriage and my first baby — and that moment stuck. I promised myself: books will be a staple in this house.

The very first book I bought was Goodnight, Little Animals. Watching my daughter try to roar like the baby lion? Priceless. Some of those early books now have teeth marks and ripped pages (because toddlers, right?), but they’re core memories now.

Reading isn’t just an activity around here — it’s how we connect, wind down, and grow together.

📖 Our Favorite Books (a.k.a. toddler-approved and mama-survived)

1. God Made Us 🐘🦒

Sweet, simple, and full of truth. My daughter loved hearing how God made us tall or short. The “smooth or spiky” part? I had to get creative with that one 😂.It’s an easy, faith-filled way to talk about identity and God’s intentional love.

2. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss 🍳💚

She yells “I don’t like it ANYWHERE!” like it’s her personal protest anthem. It’s fun, loud, and the repetition really helped with her speech. Total classic.

3. BOB Books – Set 1 🧠📘

If you’re starting the “learning to read” journey, grab these. Simple, short, and so effective. These books helped her sound out actual words without getting overwhelmed.

4. Dino Potty 🦖🚽

This helped me potty train my daughter at 2 — without losing my mind or cleaning poop off the floor. 🙌🏾A full blog post is coming, but this one gets an A+ for keeping potty time light and fun.

5. Thank You, God 🙏🏾🍓

Want to teach gratitude without sounding preachy? This book does it. It walks kids through thanking God for food, friends, and the little things. It gave us such a natural way to talk about thankfulness.

6. Where Is Spot? 🐶📘

This one is a classic for a reason. The flaps? Toddler GOLD. My daughter loved lifting each one like she was playing hide-and-seek with the book. We’d go, “Is Spot under here?” and she’d giggle before flipping it open like a detective. It made story time interactive and fun — plus, it was a nice break from books that just go straight through.

7. Sealed With a Kiss (Disney Princess) 👑🐚

This one is for my fellow Ariel fans 🙋🏾‍♀️The story is soft, the illustrations are sweet, and it’s perfect for calming her down at bedtime.

8. I Am a Big Sister 👧🏾🍼

This one helped us get my toddler ready for her new baby sister — and it totally worked!She especially loved the part where the big sister changes the baby’s diaper, and now, anytime we do diaper changes, she says:

“Dirty diaper, yuck let’s see. Here is a clean one found by me!”

It’s sweet, simple, and a great way to start the “you’re going to be a big sibling” conversation without making it overwhelming.

Final Thoughts 💭

Start early. Stay consistent (even if it’s just one book at bedtime while trying not to pass out yourself).You don’t need a Pinterest-perfect library — just a few well-loved books and a few minutes of intention.

One thing that really helped build our reading culture was asking family and friends to give books as birthday gifts instead of toys. It sounds small, but it made a huge difference — now our bookshelf is full of sweet memories from people we love. 🥹

We also visited our local library (keyword: visited — past tense lol). One time, I took my daughter and she opened one of those big 3D pop-up books… and burst into tears 😭. I wanted to grab my bag and leave IMMEDIATELY, but we powered through, found other books, and she ended up having fun. I haven’t been back with her since though — that’s a me problem 😂

Reading is one of the best gifts I’m giving to my kids — and it all started with a moment in a church pew. So if your baby’s chewing on the book, you’re yawning halfway through, and the toddler’s reading upside down?

You're still becoming, and you’re doing amazing. 📚💛

P.S. Some links in this post are affiliate links — meaning I may earn a small commission if you click and buy (at no extra cost to you). I’ve used and loved every product here. Thanks for supporting Still BeKoming... and for helping cover that one library book my toddler may or may not have tried to eat. 😅

P.S.S. I made you a free printable tracker because #organizationgoals... even if you fill it out with a crayon while hiding in the bathroom. 😂 Use it to jot down your little one’s favorite books, quotes they mispronounce adorably, or just keep it as proof you tried. Frame it. Stick it on the fridge. Mail it to Grandma. It’s yours.

👇 Download it here and claim your gold star, mama 🌟

Printable reading tracker.

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