Are you searching for the best books for one year olds to add to your storybook collection?
Story time with your baby is a perfect opportunity for bonding, helping them to relax and teaching them new words.
And a love of reading is also one of the most important things to teach your one year old!
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This list of books is a must-have selection of familiar classics you probably read when you were little and new favourites that definitely deserve a place on your nursery’s bookcase:
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
- Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
- Each Peach Pear Plum by Allen Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg
- Where’s Spot by Eric Hill
- Elmer by David McKee
- We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
- Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
- Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
- Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
- Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
- The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
- Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson
- Usborne That’s Not My… series
- First 100 Words by Roger Priddy
- Fox’s Socks by Julia Donaldson
- Noisy Farm by Rod Campbell
- Nursery Rhymes (any collection aimed at toddlers)
- On The Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman
- Mog the Forgetful Cat by Judith Kerr
- Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? by Karen Katz
- The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss
- Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton
- The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? By Bill Martin Jr
Read on to find out more about each of these books!
Best Books for One Year Olds
Wondering if any of these books are for you and your little one? This collection of books is perfect for both boys and girls.
I don’t believe it’s possible to have too many books for your kids and the great thing about many of these books is they will still enjoy reading them right through toddlerhood.
All of these are books that my own kids loved as babies and toddlers, and are extremely popular in book charts for this age group. A few of them are books from my own childhood that have stayed with me too!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
This simple story about a caterpillar on its journey to becoming a butterfly is absolutely perfect for this age group. It’s a timeless classic for a good reason.
Kids will love the bright illustrations of the caterpillar and the various food items he chomps his way through and the holes in the page making the story leap off the page.
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
A short and sweet story that is perfect for bedtime.
This story goes through a bedtime ritual of saying good night to everything in the room, from toys to items in the room.
It’s written in a rhyming language which makes it perfect for this age group to help lull them to sleep.
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
This is the perfect story to read to a baby or toddler who is attending some kind of childcare.
It’s about three owl babies whose mother has gone out. They worry she won’t come back, until finally she does!
The story sends a message to young children that even if parents have gone away for a short while, they will come back.
Each Peach Pear Plum by Allen Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg
This story introduces characters from well-known nursery stories, such as the Three Bears and Tom Thumb.
Children can find the characters hidden in the pictures.
Where’s Spot by Eric Hill
A great life-the-flap book in which Spot the dog has hidden from his mother.
It’s a simple story but full of cute illustrations and animals to discover.
Elmer by David McKee
The classic story is about a rainbow patchwork elephant who is different to all of the other grey elephants.
But the story goes on a journey that reveals what makes Elmer different also makes him special, and in the end the elephants decide to celebrate differences.
There is a whole series of Elmer books to enjoy, but the first is the best.
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
This book was turned into a short movie a few years ago and it’s easy to see why, with its adventurous storyline!
The book sees a group of siblings go hunting for bears. They have to cross through mud and puddles, making funny sounds as they go.
Features repetition that babies and toddlers will love.
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
A bunny and their baby discuss love in this sweet story.
This is a perfect bedtime book.
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
A sweet story that explores how babies all over the world may be different but in many ways are very much the same!
Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
This book is absolutely spot on for kids age one. It features lift-the-flap pages as you explore the different animals sent by the zoo as a potential pet.
It’s perfect for introducing kids to different animals.
Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
A fun story about a giraffe who wants to join the other animals at the Jungle Dance. It’s a fun picture book that explores the concept of the outsider and coming to accept who you are.
The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
A classic kid’s book about a tiger who visits a little girl and eats the contents of her kitchen!
Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson
The story follows a baby monkey who has lost their mum. The monkey is helped through the jungle on a search to find her.
It features lovely rhyming language and a happy end!
Usborne That’s Not My… series
This Usborne series of books features textured panels that are perfect for babies.
Books in the series focus on all sorts of animals and objects, from unicorns to teddy bears.
First 100 Words by Roger Priddy
This isn’t a story book but it is so worth having in your one-year-old’s book collection.
It features a huge range of words for your baby to learn, from animals to objects and food.
Fox’s Socks by Julia Donaldson
In this story the poor old Fox has lost his socks! Kids can lift the flaps on the pages to help him find them.
Noisy Farm by Rod Campbell
A fun lift-the-flap book that explores a farm as the reader joins Sam the farm dog for a day.
A great story for teaching children about the different noises animals on the farm make.
Nursery Rhymes (any collection aimed at toddlers)
It doesn’t really matter what collection of nursery rhymes you get.
There are all sorts of different books published containing the classic rhymes such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Baa Baa Black Sheep.
Reading these to your kids helps them to develop language skills, and will make them laugh too.
On The Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman
A sentimental and whimsical book about the love parents have for their children.
Mog the Forgetful Cat by Judith Kerr
This book has slightly more words than the others on this list, but I think it’s important to sometimes push kids to a slightly higher reading level where you can.
There is a whole series of Mog books which explore various different themes and aspects of childhood.
Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? by Karen Katz
This story is about little babies playing peekaboo and is interactive to get your baby learning about their own body.
The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss
Every child’s book collection should include a Dr Seuss book. The rhyming words and whimsical stories are so magical.
Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton
A fun story featuring lovely pictures and animal noises to enjoy.
Kids will love to repeat and imitate the animal noises.
The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
A story about Mr Fish whose friends decide to cheer him up.
Features lovely ocean illustrations and rhyming words to create a fun fishy story.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? By Bill Martin Jr
A perfect story for one year olds, with the chance to learn about colours and animals.
The illustrations are bright but simple and the text features sing-song rhyming language that babies will love.
What type of books are best for 1 year olds
There are all sorts of different types of books on the market for babies and toddlers.
A good book collection will have a range of different types of stories, some that focus just on the words and others that have a little more interactivity for babies to enjoy.
When figuring out what books your baby will enjoy, look for anything that will engage them in the act of enjoying a story and sitting down to listen to a book.
If you nurture a love of reading right now, it will carry on into their later years when reading is important for their learning at school.
A little text, lots of pictures
Find books that have just a bit of text on each page and plenty of pictures with bright colours to draw their attention.
This means they won’t get overwhelmed by the words – simple stories and short sentences will hold their focus better – and will stay engaged with the story.
Books with repetition and rhyming language are also great and easier for your baby to follow.
Board books
Books with thick pages can be easily turned so your baby can learn about how they can read independently.
You’ll find that your baby is still learning how to be gentle with their story books so that the paper doesn’t rip. It’s best to look for books with the thicker pages so they can be a little rougher with them without damaging the book.
Story books
Search for books that are about topics your baby loves such as cars or animals.
You can also search for stories that your baby may find it easy to relate to. For example if you are expecting another baby then look for books that explore the concept of a new baby and siblings.
Sensory books
Books with textured areas that babies can touch are perfect as they bring the story to life.
Interactive books
Lift-the-flap and pop-up books are brilliant for encouraging your baby to get involved with touching the pages and encouraging them to turn pages.
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The benefits of reading to your baby
There are so many great benefits to reading to your baby and engaging them with books.
Great for bonding
Spending time together reading a story, pointing at the pictures and talking about what happens is a perfect opportunity for bonding with your baby.
These books will form part of their cherished childhood memories, and it’s so wonderful to be able to share that with your baby.
Helps baby learn new words
Even if your baby is not yet saying many words at age one, they will be absorbing so much.
Repetition is key to not only introducing a range of words to your baby, but also making them stick and helping baby to understand the meaning.
Reading them stories, and discussing the story and pointing out pictures, will help them put words into context and understand their meaning over time.
Teaches baby important concepts
As a one year old your baby will be learning about letters of the alphabet, colours, numbers and shapes.
Books can help them to pick up these concepts and reinforce important words for them to learn.
It also teaches your baby about the world around them, including things that they may not see day to day, such as other places, different emotions, animals, vehicles and more.
Makes reading part of their routine
When your kids get to school reading is going to be one of the main things their teacher wants them to do – both at home and at school.
If you can make reading a part of their routine right from day one, and make it fun, then you’ll find it much easier to keep them engaged in reading for school.
Improves chances of success in school
Studies show that reading to babies from an early age leads to stronger vocabulary and later leads to better learning in the early years of school.
Even though school may seem a long way off, and your baby might not be saying much, your baby is still learning as you read to them.
