Essential Books for Your Baby's First Library

What books are essential for your baby’s first library? What are the must-have books that every child needs in their bookshelf? The ones that you and baby will read over and over and never get tired of? Read on for some tips for building your baby’s library, and see what books I chose for my baby’s first little library.

This past Christmas Eve I was at my sister’s house. It’s a twelve hour drive so we don’t get to visit often. They have a beautiful house on a hill and my daughter loved exploring a new place and seeing all her family! My sister’s six year old son was showing my two year old all his toys and books, when he brought out a copy of Little Blue Truck. I’ve never heard of this book and the other adults (and the six year old) were in shock at my ignorance. Apparently it’s a great book that everyone who’s anyone needs to read! So I borrowed the book and read it to my daughter and she loved it! It made me wonder what other great books our family is missing out on.

This website was created to share some of my best finds of books for young children. When I was pregnant with my daughter I set out to build the perfect little book collection. I ended up with some beautiful books as presents, bought some myself, and stumbled across others as hand me downs, from thrift stores, etc. Although she’s two now and her books and toys have grown and changed with her, I still have some of those essential books that were the beginnings of her little library.

Today I wanted to give some tips for finding the essential books for your baby’s first library, and share some of my daughter’s newborn favorites.

Look for classics that are loved by all. Once your baby grows you will get a feel of what books they are most interested in and expand from there.

Board books. Board books are the best! They really are necessary once your baby reaches the grabby phase (which is sooner than you think). A board book is easy for little hands to help hold, turn pages, and avoid paper cuts! With a board book you can cover it with sticky, jammy fingers, and easily wipe up any drips or spills.

Speaking of board books, buy physical books in general. Kindles and other electronic book readers are great, but I’ve found that for small children a physical book works best. Save the Kindle for your older kids.

Go to the library! What a great way to save money. Most local libraries give free library cards and often have large kids sections. This is a great way to try out new books and authors.

Save money by finding books at thrift shops, Goodwill, library books sales, etc. Another great place for used books is AbeBooks.com. I’m a huge fan of their free shipping. And of course Amazon and eBay offers used books for great prices as well.

But while you’re saving money…Don’t be afraid to splurge on what’s important. I spent more than I usually would on my daughter’s baby book. I was okay with investing for a book I am planning to keep for the rest of her life. If a book has a special meaning, a signed copy or collector’s edition might be a very special newborn gift.

Check out the books below that made up my daughter’s first book collection:

Jamberry

Written and Illustrated by Bruce Degen

This board book was gifted from my mom. We’ve read it so often I’m pretty sure I could read it from memory.

Ava’s Baby Book

C.R. Gibson Blue ‘All the Stars’ Baby Boy Memory Book for Newborns

I love love love this baby book. Amazon has a pink version and a blue version, and they call the blue version the boy version, but it’s such a pretty purple-ee/blue color and has such beautiful and subtle decoration that I had to get it. I also love that there is a place in the front to insert a picture.

Here’s a pic of my daughters book:

Goodnight Moon

Written by Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd

A classic, one of the first books I bought for my daughter.

One Fine Day

Written and Illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian

This is not a board book (which I slightly regret) but has such beautiful drawings I couldn’t resist. Ava’s “spirit animal” is a fox and this book has a beautiful fox on the cover. This is an older book from the 70’s that won the Caldecott Medal for illustrations. The story is a retelling of an Armenian fairy tale about a fox who lost his tale.

Guess How Much I love You

Written by Sam McBratney and Illustrated by Anita Jeram

We were gifted this classic book about the how much big Nut Brown Hare loves little Nut Brown Hare.

Goodnight Baby Moon

Published by DK Books

This book has a very simple story about rabbits gazing at the moon and watching it change over the seasons. The real draw is the giant light up moon on the cover. You press a button and the moon will light up. It’s great for oohs and aahs and your baby will want to press the button over and over.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Written by Beatrix Potter

This is an abridged board book version with beautiful drawings and is a great introduction into the world of Peter Rabbit.

On the Night You Were Born

Written by Nancy Tillman

I bought this book because I liked the book cover. It’s two polar bears dancing in the moonlight. Once I read it I discovered it’s an award winning book and a great story all about the night your baby was born, and how all the world celebrated. There’s a couple instances in the book where you can bond with your child and make the reading more personal.

“The sound of your name is a magical one. Let’s say it out loud before we go on.”

Baby Farm Animals

Written by Garth Williams

I found this Little Golden Book at TJ Maxx or Marshalls. It’s a board book that was originally published in the 1950’s. What I love about this book is the way the author narrates the story directly to the child with lots of details and without dumbing down the story. “Baby sheep is called a lamb, she likes to graze in the grass by the green meadow.” (I have another farm animal book that just names the animal and what sound they make. “Sheep. Baa” That book is very boring to read.)

Mister Seahorse

Written & Illustrated by Eric Carle

A baby book list wouldn’t be complete without a book from Eric Carle. While he has written many great children’s classics, the first one in my library was Mister Seahorse. What I like about this book is that it grows with your child. When they are very small they will enjoy the words spoken aloud, and as they get older they love finding the hidden fish behind see through pages!

And those are the ten books that made up my baby’s first library. For more baby book recommendations check out The Best Caldecott Award Winning Books for Young Children. And be sure to stop by Mondays and Thursdays for more children’s book reviews, recommendations, and essential book lists!

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Essential Books for Your Baby’s First Library