Top ten English books for toddlers

Reading is a key way to develop your child’s language. Here are our top ten English picture books for toddlers between the ages of 2 and 5. By the way, Youtube has videos of most of the books being read aloud by native speakers! Just click on the links below the books.

Giraffe’s Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae & Guy Parker-Rees

Gerald the giraffe loves to dance, but his legs and neck are too long and skinny. So whenever he tries to twirl, his knees buckle and he falls flat on his belly. At the Jungle Dance, all the other animals rock the dance floor. The warthogs do the waltz, the chimps dance cha-cha, and baboons perform a Scottish reel.

When Gerald enters the dance floor, the animals soon begin to laugh about his dancing. As a result, he leaves the dance, feeling like complete loser. But there is one little creature who believes in him: the cricket. She tells him that everything in the world makes music and that he just has to find his very own personal tune. So Gerald starts swaying to his own sweet tune.

Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees’ Giraffe’s Can’t Dance is a book that inspires and encourages kids!

For the Youtube video see here.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar hatches from an egg one morning and starts to eat more and more every day. After eating ice cream, cheese, and eventually a green leaf,  he is so full that he lays down and falls asleep–only to wake up as a beautiful butterfly.

Eric Carle’s book has won multiple awards. It guides children through the days of the week, different foods as well as the different stages of a caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly. Plus, there are real holes in the pages of the book–as if a real caterpillar has munched his way through the book.

For the Youtube video see here.

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

With amazing illustrations, Llama Llama Red Pajama tells a situation parents know too well: we put the little one down to sleep at night, think we have a little time to ourselves to make a phone call or clean up the kitchen when, all of a sudden, we hear our kid scream at the top of her lungs! Just like we do as parents, mama llama dashes back into the room…and assures the little llama that everything is okay, that mama is always there even if the little llama cannot see her, and–most importantly–that she loves the little llama very much.

Llama Llama Red Pajama tells this classic bedtime drama from a very cute and fun perspective that assures children that there is actually no need to cry at night.

For the Youtube video see here.

The Goodnight Train by June Sobel

All aboard the sun is down, the goodnight train is leaving town! All children need to jump on, hold on to their pillows and join the magical train ride that passes mermaids and other fantastic creatures on the way to Dreamland.

June Sobel’s The Goodnight Train features rocking lyrics that remind of the click clack and the huffing puffing sounds of a train’s engine. Sounds that eventually sooth kids to sleep.

For the Youtube video see here.

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

Can you do it? From Head to Toe is an interactive book that invites kids to wriggle their toes like a parrot, shake their arms like a monkey, and stand on one leg like a flamingo!

Eric Carle’s From From Head to Toe makes reading fun and interactive–just like it’s meant to be!

For the Youtube video see here.

Potty by Leslie Patricelli

‘Should I go in my diaper or should I go in the potty? is the question this toddler is grappling with. And finally he makes a decision to use the potty… Leslie Patricelli’s Potty presents an everyday issue for toddlers in a fun light. I was surprised how much my little one was able to identify with it and had fun when reading the book!

For the Youtube video see here.

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

The child writes a letter to the zoo to send him a pet. So the zoo starts sending different animals. Each animal is hidden behind a flap. The zoo sends an elephant, but he was too big. They sent a giraffe, she was too tall. Then they sent a snake, but she was way too scary! Until one day when they sent the perfect pet.

Dear Zoo by Rod Campell is a classic and checking behind each flap to discover the next present from the zoo is really exciting!

For the Youtube video see here.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr & John Archambault

“A told B, and B told C, I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree.” Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is an alphabet rhyme book. All of the letters of the alphabet race one another up the coconut tree. But there is not enough space so they all come tumbling down.

Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a fun alphabet rhyme book with vivid colors.

For the Youtube video see here.

The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen

The Pout Pout Fish spreads “dreary wearies” all day long… until one day when he discovers that being glum isn’t as much fun as being friendly and outgoing. So he decides to turn into a smootch smootch fish! In her New York Times Bestseller Deborah Diesen presents a fun story — a story that is all about being positive in life!

For the Youtube video see here.

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

Dragons Love Tacos is simply a book about dragons and their love for tacos. They love all sorts of tacos: big tacos, small tacos, chicken tacos, beef tacos. So if you are inviting a lot of dragons to your party, make sure you have tacos. But what you should never ever, never ever, never ever do is serve them hot salsa because everybody knows that when you eat hot salsa you breathe fire!

By the way, the picture shows me reading Dragons Love Tacos at Ella’s daycare this summer! The kids loved the book and even the teachers got sucked into the story about the red-hot-fiery taco salsa!

For the Youtube video see here.