As a parent, I know how important it is for you to read to your toddler. I have two kids who started reading when they were 4 years old. The best way to help your child become a reader is to find books that they like. When my three 2-year-olds were young, they all loved these books. I've also put together a list of other books that parents say their kids will enjoy.

Best Books for 2-Year-Olds

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

You should not let the pigeon drive in this book. The bus driver has asked you not to. Children are supposed to keep telling the pigeon no.

There isn't a lot of text in this book, and some of the subtle humor in the illustrations might not be clear to 2-year-olds. Most of them love to say no, though. It's also common for them to want to tell someone else to stop doing something after they hear it a lot from Mom and Dad.

It's fun to read Pigeon books with my kids. There are also chances to talk about how the pigeon is feeling based on the pictures.

It's not the only Pigeon book that Mo Willems has written. Pigeon needs a bath! The Pigeon also finds a hot dog.

The Monster At the End of This Book

This book also lets kids play a part in the story.

In the end, Grover tells people not to turn any pages. A lot of Grover's ideas don't work when your child turns the page (for example, building a wall).

The ending is a silly way to end a fun and interesting book. There is a sequel that also has Elmo in it, but it has the same basic idea: There's Another Monster at the End of This Book.

Sesame Street characters and the sense that you were part of the story made this a favorite for my kids.

Press Here

If you want to read a book with some built-in interaction, you can try Press Here.

When the reader does something (like press the yellow dot, or rub it), that action changes the picture on the next page.

In my house, we haven't read this book yet. But I think that it would be an excellent way for a young child to interact with a text. My kids like books where the narrator talks right to the people who are reading them.

This is what some parents say: Their 2-year-old didn't like the book, but some kids liked it better a few months after that!

The Wonderful Things You Will Be

Wonderful Things You Will Be is a book about what parents want their kids to become.

It doesn't focus on what kids will be able to do in the future, but on their character traits like being kind and brave. The text is written in rhymes that parents say are easy for their children to read aloud.

Illustrations are also a favorite for many parents, who say they are very interesting. Parents who aren't us don't think they go with the story as well as we do.

Little Pea

Your toddler might like Little Pea. If they are picky eaters, they might like this food.

He likes to do fun things, but he doesn't like to eat his dinner: candy! But he has to eat all of his sweets before he can have vegetables for dessert, which he likes.

Your 2-year-old is likely to find this change to your normal mealtimes very funny. They are also simple but cute.

In this case, Little Hoot is written and illustrated by the same people, so they are the same people. He wants to go to bed when it's dark, like his friends do. His parents, on the other hand, make him stay up a little longer.

This Book Is Magic

Here's another book for your toddler to play with. This Book Is Magic is one of them.

Make a bunny appear with a tap or make a ship disappear with magic words in this book. Images of circus animals and old-fashioned magic shows are shown in bright colors in this book.

The "magic" in this story might keep your child from getting bored.

You Hold Me Up

This is not really a story, but it was written to help young children learn how to be supportive of each other and think about how their decisions affect other people. You Hold Me Up

The text encourages reconciliation and empathy with simple words and bright pictures. It shows characters who are Native American but doesn't call them out by name, so it's also a book that isn't very inclusive.

They love using this one to teach their young children and students about the world.

Richard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Ever

When my husband was little, his parents read him Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever (Giant Golden Book). They gave us a copy for our kids, and now he reads it to them.

The book has a lot of nursery rhymes that look like they were drawn by Richard Scarry. In addition to some of the more well-known poems, there are some that aren't as well-known, like "Jack Be Nimble," "Simple Simon," and "Three Little Kittens."

I had to go to London to buy a wife because I didn't have one at home. Nothing in the text is dirty or profane. To avoid reading them, just don't read them. You can also change the text as you go along. Just read through it on your own first, so you can be ready to make any changes.

Each poem in the nursery rhyme format is short, so you can read one at a time or a few in one sitting without it taking too long. A long time to read the whole book at once.

It's not the only book that kids love. Richard Scarry also has a lot of other books that kids love, like Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever (Giant Golden Book) and Richard Scarry's Best Little Board Book Ever.

Best Board Books for 2-Year-Olds

If Animals Kissed Good Night is longer than Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, and Goodnight Moon, then it must be longer than Goodnight, Goodnight. As a bedtime story, it's very short: The Going-To-Bed Book.

The Going to Bed Book

Sandra Boynton's The Going-To-Bed Book is a good bedtime book. It's a lot of fun. This has been one of our favorite things for years.

It shows a group of animals on a boat getting ready for bed, like taking a bath, getting dressed, and brushing their teeth. In this book, the illustrations are very cute and funny, and the text is fun to read aloud.

Some parents don't like it when the animals work out before going to bed because they don't want their kids to run around. We didn't have any problems with this in our family at all. We laughed when we saw the animals working out in silly ways and went on with our day.

If you have young kids, I think there are a lot of other Sandra Boynton books they should read. Blue Hat, Green Hat, Moo Baa La La La, and Happy Hippo, Angry Duck: A Book of Moods were some of my favorite books that also taught me a thing or two (about getting dressed, animal sounds, and feelings, respectively).

If Animals Kissed Good Night

As a book, If Animals Kissed Good Night is a sweet one that my kids have liked. In this video, different animals kiss each other goodnight in a different way.

There are giraffes that stretch their necks, wolves howl, and a sloth that moves very, very slowly. The book shows mom and dad animals kissing their babies goodnight, which is good.

BabyLit Pride & Prejudice

If you want to read the same book over and over, like LITTLE MISS AUSTEN: PRIDE & PREJUDICE, it's good to have some that you enjoy, too.

You can turn Jane Austen's classic book into a counting book for toddlers with this cute board book! You can think about how Mr. Darcy and Lizzie fell in love as your 2-year-old learns to count.

If Jane Austen isn't your thing, you can choose from a lot of other classic BabyLit books, like:

It's called Little Women: A BabyLit Primer (BabyLit Primers)

It's called "A Midsummer Night's Dream: A BabyLit Fairies Primer" (BabyLit Primers)

As a child's book, Moby-Dick is a primer on the ocean (BabyLit Primers)

In this box set, you get Romeo and Juliet, Wizard of Oz, Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick, Jane Eyre, Alice in Wonderland, the Jungle Book, and more.

Shower gifts for parents-to-be who love classic literature are also a good idea for these books, as are gifts for new parents.

Baby University Board Books

One more thing to keep you going is the Baby University Board Book Set: Four Science Board Books for Babies (Baby University Board Book Sets). These colorful board books make it easy for you and your 2-year-old to learn about physics.

Also, there are a lot of books in this series that you can read. The ABCs of Engineering, Organic Chemistry for Babies, and Robotics for Babies are all good places to start for kids who want to learn about engineering.

Some parents said that their toddlers didn't like these books, but most thought they were fun and a good way to teach kids about science at a young age. I have given these as gifts to parents, and they have all been very happy with them.

Giraffes Can’t Dance

He thinks that because of his long legs and neck, it isn't possible for him to dance. The story is called "Gerald the giraffe."

Gerald is made fun of by the other animals. When he gets some ideas, he finds out that he is actually a great dancer. This book has a lot of fun illustrations, and the rhyming text is very well done.

I think it's a good idea to teach kids not to believe what bullies say, but some parents find it a little weird. Because Gerald wants to be the best dancer of them all, they think he should look for a talent that makes him unique instead.

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