Book recommendations for babies and kids – Age 0 to 12 years

A book is a gift you can open again and again. Books let you travel several distances in just few pages. The road to imagination and information never ends!! If you haven’t tasted the joy of book reading, you might find boring to start this reading habit as an adult. But, once you found your right book, you will be ready for the voyage. Unlike adults, babies will find the books more interesting & engaging as they love to explore anything & everything, just from 3 to 4 months of birth. So, the right time to get them involved in books are the first 5 to 6 years of age. Once they are hooked to it, then they get immersed into their world of reading – a gadget free world 🌍 My elder daughter Nilaa is 9-year-old now and I am happy to see that she is an avid reader. Her reading journey started from 4 months(with me) & she started to self-read from 6 years. She gets zero screen time in the weekdays and books are her best companion. My younger daughter Natchathira follows the footsteps of Nilaa.

When kids get interested in reading, it not only develops their vocabulary, but also helps in developing patience, concentration, discipline and listening skills. I don’t recommend kindle/e-books for young readers. Flipping thru tangible pages 📖 in Physical books 📚 will connect more. Reading might open the door to writing as well. In this post, I have listed some of the books that my kids read. We own a few and many were from Public Library in USA. I hope these lists will give you some suggestions to start with. I have 2 girls and you might feel that most of the books are girly picks 😉 But books can’t be gender specific as I have seen many boys who enjoy fairy tales. So, just go with their interest.

Books for babies below 1 year:

You can start introducing books to babies as early as 4 months, when they could touch & grab stuffs. Start with “Touch & Feel” books, Soft cloth books, Flap books & sound books. You don’t need to spend much on best-sellers for baby books. Just pick random baby books from online or nearby bookstore. Color, sound and texture are considered as attractions for babies. Quantity or quality of books doesn’t matter for babies. Time spent by parent in engaging the baby with the book is all matters. Talk in motherese or babyish language. Show explicit expressions. Make animal sounds. Point to pictures, make the baby feel the book and interact more with the baby. Babies love repetitions. Even if you read the same book daily with same expressions, babies won’t be bored ! Book time is also considered as a quality time spent with baby to make the baby feel loved. Watch the below video to know how to introduce books to babies and toddlers ? – featuring my younger daughter Natchathira..

Books for toddlers – Age 1 to 3 years:

My first Animals, My first Alphabets, My first (p)dictionary, My first Words, My first Colors, My first Vehicles – No specific author recommendations for “My first” books. Just pick whichever is available. Prefer board books with bright and big pictures. Rather than lending, my personal advice is to own these books as babies will be more connected with these books. They would love to repeatedly learn from these books. Also, opt for a “Poke a Dot” book as these books will attract them with poking activity & sound. Also, they teach a specific topic as well. I got “What’s your Favorite Color?” Poke-a-dot from Melissa & Doug for my toddler. She loves to poke the dots and also to learn colors. I personally love Peppa book series for its use of respectful language and also teaches good manners. Also, get their favorite Rhymes books, as the pictures in it will connect more when they sing the rhymes. Following table has other books that my babies enjoyed at this age.

Books for Preschoolers & kindergarteners – Age 3 to 6 years:

Please read the book recommendations in the above table for toddlers too as they fit the beginners of this age group as well. Up to 5 years, baby’s whole world is mom. Babies love to cuddle mom whenever they feel happy, sad, frightened, bored. They always feel mom is the safest place in earth. I have seen both my kids love books depicting mom & baby animals. All these books will have a happy ending of uniting or cuddling with mom and babies feel so happy & secured to see that happy ending. Every time, I read these books, my girls give me a tight hug & show how much they love me. Books are the best mode to teach respect, love, kindness & good manners. Following table has book names that my kid enjoyed at this age.

Books for kids – Age 6 to 9 years:

This is the right age to encourage self-reading. If your kid is new to reading, please go through the books recommended in above 2 tables as they will help in developing the interest towards books. Once they start to love books, then encourage them to read with help. You shall also opt for read-along books, but I prefer parent to read along with a kid rather than unknown voice recordings of wonder books. Please go through the book, before handing it over to the kid. Check for the use of language. Also, check for the pictures and the story line. You could also opt for riddles/kid’s jokes books and some GK books. Don’t miss the book exhibitions at schools where you could grab good books at low prices. Following table has book names that my kid enjoyed at this age.

Books for tweens – Age 9 to 12 years:

This is the age they start to choose their books. But do read the reviews of each book before choosing. Screen for adult content and foul languages. Insist on both fiction and non-fiction books. They might read at a speed of 5+ books in a day at this age. So, use lending libraries as buying books might vanish your bank account 😉 You can still gift books on special occasions like birthdays, new year, Valentine’s Day. Adding their favorites to their personal library will make them re-read the books & their bonding with the books tighten. Following table has book names that my kid is enjoying at this age. I will keep updating this table on her new picks until she turns 12 🙂

Hope this post is found useful. For the benefit of the readers, please feel free to introduce us to good books that you have read. Pls mention the book name, author name and the recommended age group. “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” – George R.R. Martin. Let our kids adventure new lives.. Happy reading.. Happy Parenting..