Best Books for 1-Year-Olds

Every time your one-year-old picks up a new book, they’re opening a window to the world. With each turn of the page they’re experiencing new sounds, sights, and words. By sharing a board book full of bright colors, different textures, and even some funny sounds, you’re planting the first seeds of your child’s literacy skills, as well as a love of reading that will last a lifetime.  

Interactive Books for Squishing, Lifting, and Feeling

Now your baby is one, they’re beginning to learn more about the world around them through their senses. And robust and tactile board books are a great way to help your child use their senses for learning, while developing their fine motor skills. Books are also a great way of introducing your child to simple concepts like letters, body parts, animals, and lots more.  

Little fingers will love learning their ABCs with the Scholastic Early Learner title Touch and Feel: ABC. This interactive book features bright, colorful pictures as well as easy-to-pull tabs that make it perfect for young readers to turn the page.  

With updated art, Peek-a-Boo, I Love You! is an adorable lift-the-flap book that blends heartfelt messages of love with a sweet game of peek-a-boo. Your little one will squeal with excitement when a surprise mirror reveals which little baby is loved most of all!

Must-Have Counting Books for 1-Year-Olds 

You may have already begun teaching your baby how to count on their fingers, but there’s no better way to help your child learn to recognize numbers than a counting book. Plus, introducing the concept of number order through an engaging book can help improve your child’s cognitive ability.      

A great book to start with is Five Little Dinosaurs, which features rhyming text and bold, graphic artwork and tells the classic story of five mischievous little monsters who just don’t want to go to bed! 

Meanwhile, the Scholastic Early Learner, 5 Big and Busy Trucks is a touch-and-feel book with a singsong text and five silicone touches that encourage readers to interact with every vehicle. 

Your baby will delight in reading the colorful book The Ants Go Marching: A Count-and-Sing Book, which puts a new spin on the classic song while teaching number order from one through five.  

Favorite Animal Books for Your Baby  

No little library is complete without a collection of books that teach an appreciation for the natural world. Learning about animal friends and animal sounds from an early age is a great way to spark curiosity and harness your child’s interest in all creatures, great and small.

What’s cuter than a book about animals? Why, a book about baby animals, of course! Touch and Feel Baby Animals features cute photographs of baby animals as well as plenty of tactile areas for young hands to touch and explore. 

Meanwhile, Farm Tails is an interactive Touch and Explore book from Scholastic Early Learners that features five adorable cloth tails and a basic introduction to farm animals.   

If you’re looking for a great gift for a baby, then the Raise a Reader Set: Fantastic Animal Board Books is both thoughtful and fun. Featuring different characters and lots of laughs, this collection is sure to be a hit for years to come.   

Classic Children’s Books and Nursery Rhymes 

Rhyming books are a great way to introduce the concept of rhyming words to children from a young age. 

A cute interpretation of the beloved children’s song, You Are My Sunshine is a sweet book with beautiful illustrations that invites little readers to sing along and remind them just how loved they are. Meanwhile, Twinkle, Twinkle, You’re My Star offers an interactive experience for you and your child as a finger puppet star comes to life on every page!       

If you’re looking for a board version of a classic children’s book to share with your child, then look no further than Clifford the Big Red Dog Board Book. The thick pages are easy for young readers to turn — and you’ll be magically transported back to your own childhood while sharing this classic book with the next generation. 

Best Books for Your Bedtime Routine 

Making family read aloud time part of your child’s evening routine is the perfect way to bond at the end of every day, as well as creating a healthy daily habit of reading. Seeing their favorite characters get ready for bed models good behavior for your child and lets them know it’s almost time for them to say goodnight, too. 

In Clifford’s Bedtime, the adorable little red puppy exasperates his mother by thinking of creative ways to postpone bedtime. Meanwhile, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? is a rip-roaringly fun book that shows us that we all have to say good night — no matter our size.