24 Board Books for 2-Year-Olds That Survive Chewing and Rereads

Your two-year-old brings you the same book for the fifth time tonight, and one corner is already soft from chewing. The best books for 2 year olds are built for exactly that: thick pages, few words and a pattern your child can say back to you. Here are 24 books for 2 year olds, with each author and first-publication year checked, and a few ways to read them to a child who will not sit still.

What a 2-year-old gets from books

Books give a 2-year-old new words, a reason to point and a pattern to join. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that a child this age can follow a simple story line but has a hard time sitting still, so it advises short, activity-oriented books that invite a child to touch, point, name objects or repeat phrases (HealthyChildren.org). Pointing to a picture when you name it is one of the language milestones the same site lists for this year (HealthyChildren.org milestones).

Shared reading also builds the bond between you. Reach Out and Read, the early-literacy model the American Academy of Pediatrics endorses, works through well-child visits and treats reading together as part of healthy development from birth (Reach Out and Read). Zero to Three counts chewing and page turning as early literacy behaviors, and it warns that formal reading instruction at this age is not developmentally appropriate (Zero to Three).

Why the hundredth reread still counts

Rereading is how a toddler takes a book over. The first few times, your child listens and looks. Later, your child points before you ask, says the animal sound before you turn the page and protests when you skip a line, which shows that the words are sticking.

How to choose books for 2 year olds, step by step

A good book for this age is short, sturdy and gives your child a job to do on every page. Run through these steps in a library or a shop.

1. Check the pages. Board books with thick cardboard pages survive chewing, bending and a toddler's first attempts at turning pages alone.
2. Count the words. One picture and a line or two per page fits a 2-year-old's attention. A dense page loses a child this age before you reach the bottom.
3. Look for an action. Flaps to lift, textures to pat, holes to poke and sounds to copy keep small hands busy, which is what the AAP advice on activity-oriented books points to.
4. Listen for a pattern. A repeated question, a rhyme or a refrain gives your child a line to finish. Read one page aloud in the shop and hear if it has a beat.
5. Match it to your child's world. Animals, trucks, bath, potty, bedtime and body parts are things a 2-year-old meets every day, so the book gives words for real life.
6. Mix the types. Aim for a basket with flap books, touch books, sound books, rhymes and one or two bedtime books, so there is a book for every mood.

The part parents get wrong: too many words

The most common mismatch is a beautiful picture book written for a five-year-old. The pictures pull your toddler in, and then a page of text pushes them away, so keep the longer picture books for later and choose books where the words fit in one breath per page. For the next step up, see these top children's books kids aged 2 to 8 love.

Best board books for 1-2 year olds: flaps, touch and first words

Flap, touch and first-word books are the easiest start for a child between one and two, and they stay favorites through age two. Every page becomes a small game.

• Where's Spot? (Eric Hill, 1980). A mother dog looks around the house for her puppy, and every flap hides a different animal until Spot turns up.
• Dear Zoo (Rod Campbell, 1982). A child writes to the zoo for a pet, and each crate-shaped flap hides an animal that goes back for being too big, too tall or too fierce.
• Pat the Bunny (Dorothy Kunhardt, 1940). The first touch-and-feel book: your child pats a furry bunny and feels Daddy's scratchy face.
• That's Not My Puppy (Fiona Watt, illustrated by Rachel Wells). Each page has a texture patch and a puppy that is not quite right, until the last one is.
• Where Is Baby's Belly Button? (Karen Katz, 2000). Lift-the-flap body parts: eyes, mouth, feet and the belly button your child can then find on their own tummy.
• Peek-a-Who? (Nina Laden, 2000). Cut-out windows and a short rhyme turn peekaboo into a guessing game.

Animal sounds books toddlers copy

Animal-sound books get a 2-year-old talking, because a "moo" is easier to say than a name. These four are built around noises your child can make with you.

• Moo, Baa, La La La! (Sandra Boynton, 1982). Cows moo, sheep baa and three pigs sing, which always gets a laugh.
• Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? (Dr. Seuss, 1970). A man who can make every sound, from a cow to a clock, invites your child to try each one.
• Little Blue Truck (Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry, 2008). A friendly truck beeps to the farm animals, and they help when it gets stuck in the mud.
• Barnyard Dance! (Sandra Boynton, 1993). A square-dance rhyme where the animals bow, twirl and stomp, so your child can move along.

Rhyming books for two year olds

Rhyme and repetition let a 2-year-old predict what comes next, and predicting is the first step to joining in. Every book here has a beat you will know by heart in a week.

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Bill Martin Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle, 1967). One question repeats on every page, with a new animal and a new color each time.
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert, 1989). The letters of the alphabet race up a coconut tree in rhyming couplets.
• Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes (Mem Fox, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, 2008). Babies from around the world, each with ten fingers and ten toes, and a refrain to count along with.
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle, 1969). A caterpillar eats through holes in the pages, day by day, and becomes a butterfly.
• Freight Train (Donald Crews, 1978). A train of colored cars rolls across the pages with almost no story, so each car is a color to name.
• Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb (Al Perkins, 1969). A band of monkeys drums through a bouncy rhyme that is fun to tap out on your knees.

Bedtime and routine board books

Bedtime and routine books help a 2-year-old practice the day: the bath, the potty, the goodnights. The quiet ones belong at the end of the evening.

• Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd, 1947). A small rabbit says goodnight to the things in the great green room, one by one.
• Good Night, Gorilla (Peggy Rathmann, 1994). A gorilla takes the zookeeper's keys and the animals follow him home, told almost entirely in pictures.
• The Going to Bed Book (Sandra Boynton, 1982). Animals on a boat take a bath, brush their teeth and climb into bed.
• Time for Bed (Mem Fox, illustrated by Jane Dyer, 1993). Animal parents settle their young for the night in soft rhymes.
• Llama Llama Red Pajama (Anna Dewdney, 2005). Baby Llama calls for Mama at bedtime and gets upset when she does not come at once.
• Potty (Leslie Patricelli, 2010). A baby thinks about using the potty, with few words per page.
• Tubby (Leslie Patricelli, 2010). Bath time, with bubbles, toys and a wet, happy baby.
• Everyone Poops (Taro Gomi, first published in Japan in 1977, in English in 1993). Every animal poops, and so do people, which takes the worry out of the subject.

All 24 books at a glance

All 24 picks sit side by side here, so you can see which type is missing from your basket. Every one is a read-aloud: you read, and your child joins in.

Where to find them for free

Your public library is the cheapest way to test a book before you buy it, and most libraries keep a board-book bin in the children's room. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library mails free books to children from birth to age five in several countries (Imagination Library). Our guide to free books for kids by mail explains how to sign up.

Tips for reading to a 2-year-old who won't sit still

A wiggly 2-year-old is normal, and the reading can move with them. Keep sessions to a few minutes, read on the floor, in the bath or in the stroller, and let your child turn the pages even when that means skipping some.

Give your child a role on every page. Ask "Where is the duck?", pause before the repeated line, and wait for the animal sound. For more ideas, see how to foster a love for books in toddlers and which read-aloud books for kids work best out loud.

A book with your child in it is another way to hold attention at this age. KidTeller turns your child's photo into the illustrated hero of a new story, and its 0-2 age setting builds the story on repetition. You can record about a minute of your voice in the app so the book is narrated in your own voice, and you can order the book as a printed softcover.

Try itCreate a personalized storybookYour child's name and photo, a story in minutes

Mistakes that make story time shorter

• Reading every word: a 2-year-old follows the pictures. Name things and move on when attention drops.
• Saving books for bedtime only: a basket in the living room gets used all day.
• Correcting the "wrong" answer: if your child calls a horse a dog, say "That's a horse. It has a long tail" and keep going.
• Hiding the favorite: the 50th reading of one book is your child learning it. Rotate the others around it.
• Skipping feelings books: a few books about big emotions help at this age. These books that help toddlers manage their emotions are a good start.

Your checklist for books for 2 year olds

• Board pages: every book in the basket can survive chewing and bending.
• One line per page: short text that fits in one breath.
• Something to do: a flap, a texture, a sound or a refrain in each book.
• A mix of types: at least one flap book, one touch book, one sound book, one rhyme and one bedtime book.
• Within reach: a low basket your child can open on their own, swapped every few weeks.

When your child starts asking for stories with a character and a plot, try these short princess stories for 2-year-olds as a next step, and keep the board books close for the rereads.