20 Board books for babies that survived baby's first year

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It’s never too early to start reading to your baby or to get your kid around books.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, reading out loud to your baby from when you’re pregnant to when they’re born and during their early years goes a long way in strengthening your parent-child bond and helps them build important literacy and language skills. So as early as you can, it’s recommended to build your baby’s library. But as anyone who has ever been around a baby knows, baby’s will chew on, rip to bits, and spill stuff on anything they get in their tiny hands. So a paper book is the last thing you want around them. That’s why in the first years of their life your best bet is to opt for board books. They are chew-and rip-proof and can stand the test of time.

Here are some of the best board books you can get for your baby or toddler.  

It’s a tale about a little piggy Peppa, children who love Peppa will adore this book, it’s in the same shape as Peppa. The story lets you meet Peppa’s family and learn what she likes and what she does with friends. The book is full of adventure and it may inspire you to have more fun with your baby. 

I love you day and night is a beautiful book on the expression of unconditional love. It’s a lyrical text that says ‘’ I love you wild, I love you loud, I shout it out and feel proud’’. The book is full of exciting illustrations by Alison Brown, an ideal bedtime story for your baby. 

A flap book with beautiful illustrations of trains, buses, airplanes that will hold your baby’s attention. This board book has thick and sturdy flaps that a baby can lift and hold without being scared of damaging it. Learn the names of vehicles by playing a guessing game about things that go. 

 Here’s a little extract from this bedtime book:
 
The sun has set, and sleepyheads all across the land are tucked into their cozy beds.
Rabbit is snoozing in the weeds, and Duck is snuggled in the reeds.
Bear is nestled in his cave, and Otter is rocking on a wave.
But there’s one little sleepyhead who’s not in his bed.
Where, oh where, could he be?

A perfect story to read aloud to your baby in preparation of a good night’s sleep.

An alphabet book with wonderful creatures that take you through an amazing exploration of the animal alphabet. Every letter of the alphabet begins with an animal. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a delight, that has been around for almost 30 years, an amazing book with finger-sized holes in the pages, your baby will love it.

A cute book about hugging and a very popular picture book that has been condensed into a board book. It’s a funny story about a little boy who goes around hugging everything. It’s a feel-good book that will cheer you and your little one every time, you can see from the cover as the boy is a hugging a mailbox.  

A read-aloud board book, written in rhymes, a summer book with bright colors that takes you through an adventure with a baby ladybug who is discovering the beauty of summer around her. She discovers magical flowers in full bloom and learns colors as she makes new animal friends. 

A book about vehicles who save the day, when a family on a sailing trip get stuck in a storm, there’s only one boat brave enough to ride through the raging storm and bring them to safety, the  BLUE BOAT. With rhyming words like ‘’rough, tough. Tugboat’ and so on your baby is in for a treat. 

For one year olds, we look at books that guide them in emotions, slightly more descriptive than baby books and those that teach them about things.

An interactive board book that will introduce your baby to the sounds of different musical instruments. Each page has a button that releases a specific sound, and there are six sounds presented in a very simple but captivating way. The quality of the sounds is bound to enchant your baby and instill an early love for music. 

This touchy-feely board book brings together all our favorite animal nursery rhymes in one place. The pages are full of exciting details to explore, each one is different and has something new to see and touch. It’s a book your baby can use for a long time and grow with as it has many layers to explore. 

By best selling illustrator of The Perfect Hug and The Biggest Kiss, Judi Abbot, this is a book with the same cast as the previous books. This time all the friends embark on a journey to prove that everyone needs hugs and kisses. A lovely and heartwarming story!

Another hugging story full of rhymes, and cute bunnies, this board book is a delight, it’s even sturdy enough for your baby to play with and even chew on it without fear. 

As the name of the series Indestructible suggests, this is a rip and chew proof book, it is even washable, how cool is that? The perfect book for little humans who tend to rip and chew everything to bits. Well, this book is damage proof and it has very colorful and cute illustrations too. 

An interactive board book, that lets little ones explore the world by tracing a trail through bedtime rituals. Each page has a different bedtime ritual like taking a bath, brushing your teeth and so on. Until you get tucked in bed and fall asleep.

Hello, Bugs is a book that teaches little ones about bugs, it features 10 types of bugs and in each page, a new kind is introduced in a splurge of colors, this book is a visual treat. A contrast of black and white patterns adds a touch of awe to the whole book and each page has a burst of colorful foil.

A gift set of a collection of best-selling board books by Helen Oxenbury, in a mini version. The Baby Love box set is amazing! With about half a million copies sold, this set is a gem that will ignite a baby’s imagination. The books included are Clap Hands, Say Goodnight, All Fall Down and Tickle, Tickle all in mini versions your baby can carry around.

My First Books is a set of four mini board books on stories about Friendship, Playtime, Bedtime, and Peek-a-Boo. It engages babies and toddlers with Fisher-Price characters. Each book has a handle and is full of flashy colors your baby will most definitely like. At 6x6 inches each, their small size is just perfect and it’s only 12 pages long. 

A pack of 24 mini board books with stickers, the ‘’My First’’ set teaches the alphabet using animals or vice versa. Each book focuses on one letter of the alphabet and one animal, W/X, and Y/Z are consolidated. With each book, you learn all you need to know about one particular animal. They measure 3x3 inches and are small enough to be held by baby hands and they come with reward stickers. Perfect to introduce your child to the joys of reading.

A board book on art appreciation for babies and toddlers, it’s never too early to ignite the love of art. The Mini Masters set includes 4 colorful books from their best selling series titled:  
 

• Dancing with Degas
• A Picnic with Monet
• A Magical Day with Matisse
• And, In the Garden with Van Gogh

Brightly colored illustrations of Richard Scarry’s popular characters Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm, are out to teach us colors, shapes, counting and opposites in a uniquely funny and entertaining way.

Board books are an absolute must-have if you intend to introduce your child to the joys of reading at a young age. They won’t easily be damaged and you won’t have to buy a new one every week. Given all the board books out there, the choice of what you want to get for your baby is totally up to you. You can get mini books for when you’re on the go with the baby and opt for regular sizes when you're at home. But whatever the case may be, there's nothing stopping you from getting started on your baby’s first library today.