Toddler and Pre-Schooler Books: The 5 books my kid has been loving!

I thought that I’d do ONE post to share some books that my kids are currently reading or that they will be reading. After I got to Adam’s 4th recommendation, I realised one post was never going to work. Not unless you’re prepared to sit here through a 3000 word post! As much as I know you all love to read my blog posts, I knew that would be a push, even for the most dedicated reader. So I’ve decided to break the posts up into toddler books, Joshua age-appropriate books and Addison age-appropriate books. I’m still working on their post titles, so bear with me.

I’m going to sound so repetitive, but Adam LOVES books. He hoards them and does not want to share…..with anybody. I recently donated one book as a trial to his school. He came home and realised he had left ‘his’ book at school. Mummy, my bug book at school? Oops. He went to school 3 days later and would not leave without his book. *sigh* Some nights he will run around the house, looking for a specific book, put together a pile of about 4 books….and we will read through them about 5 times…all of them…5 times! So the love for books is strong in our home. It’s also our special time together, so I really love that and I won’t complain about reading time, ever. Okay, let’s get into our current favourite toddler books.

Adam’s book recommendations

Busy Airport

With lots to see in Busy Airport, children can have fun as they hop aboard a plane, pulling and turning the tabs! Enjoy watching your baggage go round the carousel, waving goodbye to the planes as they take off and then flying through the sky on your own aeroplane!

Children will love playing with this bright and colourful board book with gentle rhyming text and wonderful illustrations by Louise Forshaw.

Adam loves this interactive book and the bright colours! Also there are questions in the book so you can have some fun with your child, i.e. Where is the pink teddy bear? I think this is the perfect book to buy if you’re going on a trip via plane with your toddler, to add to the fun of the experience.

Simon Sock

Simon is an odd, stripey sock. He lives in the drawers with all the other socks. Every day two socks get picked to go on an adventure. The sparklies go to parties. The woolies go to the park. The smarts go to school. Everyone has a pair… except Simon. Will he ever find his perfect match?

An hilarious story celebrating friendship and difference from an exciting new picture book partnership. 

Look, I was just excited to see my name in a book here! Vanity aside though, the illustrations in this book and the actual story is so so cute! Adam loves this story and seeing what all these socks get up to….and will Simon ever find his match? You’ll have to read to find out!

PS SPOILER ALERT…..I know my name isn’t Simon, there is a Simone in the book.

Pop-Up Peekaboo! Space

Take your toddler on a pop-up space rocket adventure, and fly to the Moon in this lift-the-flap baby book with pictures that pop off the page! This imaginative pop-up peekaboo book follows two little astronauts, Annabelle and Arthur, who are rocketing into space and heading for their first Moon landing. 

Babies and toddlers can lift big flaps. The lively, read-aloud rhymes encourage literacy and early learning, while the surprise pop-up space scenes will hold the attention of curious preschoolers. With the help of parents and caregivers, toddlers will have fun turning the sturdy board book pages, guessing what’s hiding under each flap, and then lifting the flaps to find the space characters and play peekaboo!

The Peekaboo books are a huge hit in our home, because the more interactive they are, the more excited my 3yr old gets. Anything with flaps, texture or interactive moving parts are a favourite for little kids. I’m not even going to say it….but Adam (and my 2yr old nephew) really really love this book. They go ‘WOW’ when they see the robot, or the UFO is moving. Guys and gals…these books are a winner!

Where’s Spot?

It’s time to celebrate Spot’s thirtieth birthday! For three decades children have been looking everywhere for Spot in this classic, first-ever lift-the-flap book. Is he in the piano? Is he under the stairs? After finding other familiar animals, there he is in his basket!

I’m not sure if you follow me on Instagram (if you aren’t, tsk tsk), but I shared a video of Adam searching (very LOUDLY) for spot in this book. After Joshua and Adam went through it, they walked through the house looking for Spot in our wardrobes, under the bed, etc. It was so cute! Needless to say, this book features, because…..yes you know… Adam loves it….. lol

Where is Peter Rabbit?

Where has Peter Rabbit gone? Play a fun game of hide and seek with much-loved characters from the world of Beatrix Potter. Is that Peter by the blackberry bush? Is he hiding in the lettuce patch? Lift the flap and see! With easy-to-lift flaps, rhyming text and charming illustrations, this Peter Rabbit story is fun to share with little ones. The perfect introduction to Beatrix Potter for very young readers.

Flap books for the win gals….and add to that a Beatrix Potter flap book??? A WIN-WIN! Okay so there’s a theme here….Adam loves searching for things and characters….lol. It’s so much fun to discover a different character behind every flap, and then finally discovering Peter Rabbit is the obvious prize for my 3yr old.

I’m saying these are toddler books, but I assure you, my 7yr old also loves going through these books with Adam. Heck I want to know what’s behind the flap myself…there’s just something so exciting about all these books! So if you have older kids, they’ll have a lot of fun going through these with your toddlers and pre-schoolers. Bonding time for siblings or for parent and kid….winning right? What are your kid’s current favourite toddler books?

These books are available at all leading book retailers such as Bargain Books, Exclusive Books, Takealot, Loot and many more!

Disclaimer: These books were sent to me by various publishers, but all opinions are my own and I’m under no obligation to do this post.