Favorite Children's Books from B's 2nd year

Last year I wrote about B's favorite books from his first year of life a day after his birthday.  Since he will be turning two next week and it is so easy to forget the things he does from year to year I wanted to continue the trend.  Plus, most of the books we read have been the result of a recommendation from a family member, a friend, or a blog.  

There are many books B has enjoyed this year, but here are his favorites in no particular order:

1.   Good Night, Gorilla - I first read a review of this book at No Time For Flash Cards.  Then, I ordered and received the book in the mail and thought, "This doesn't seem like a book Bennett would enjoy."  Wow, was I WRONG!?!?!  He has loved this book since the first time we opened it. 

This book is about a sneaky gorilla who let's all of the animals out of their cage.  There are several pages without words, but the illustrations tell the story wonderfully.  Plus, several illustrations are filled with details that are fun to have your child point out.

2.   Little Blue Truck - B received this book for his first birthday, so it was included in last year's list.  It has continued to be a favorite, along with Little Blue Truck Leads the Way .

Both books are based on the value of being kind to others.

3.   If You Give a Moose a Muffin (and all of the others in this series)- My sister-in-law has four children, so it is not surprising that all of the books she has gifted B have become his favorites.  

This is a story about a moose who was given a muffin resulting in several random requests that runs his friend ragged eventually leading back to a muffin.  This is a great circular story that includes phrases my son frequently repeats.

I would recommend every story in the If You Give Set .

4.   Zoom!-We do not own this book, but it was an accidental library find.  I quickly picked it up one day, because I saw a dinosaur on one of the pages.  B loved it and asked me to read it to me multiple times per day.


It's a story about a father and son who ride the dino-coaster.  The son is very scared to get ride the coaster, but by the end it is the dad who is ready for the ride to be over.  Overall, this is simply a fun story and a great read for those who like dinosaurs.

5.  Truckery Rhymes -I initially heard my sister reading this book to my nephew when B was just a baby.  It stuck with me as it is a fun twist on common nursery rhymes.  When B began showing an interest in cars and trucks I decided to gift him this book for Christmas.  He enjoys naming the various vehicles and hearing several of the rhymes.


His favorite's are Three Loud Trucks (to the tune of Three Blind Mice) and Pop! Blows the Diesel (to the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel).

6. Sounds of the Wild: Nighttime - This book was a Christmas gift from B's grandparents.  While the story is too advanced for him to follow at this time, he loves the nature sounds that accompany each page.  This is a pop-up book with several animals that he enjoys pointing out and naming.


This is definitely a bedtime favorite and one that I would highly recommend if your child loves animals and is gentle with pop up books.

7. Flap Books (All Around Chuggington , Let's Go To The Farm , Buddy and the Nature Trackers )- B loves flap books and for that I am grateful.  At his age, they are very engaging and provide the opportunity for him to learn about shapes, colors, numbers, animal sounds, and in the case of Buddy and the Nature Trackers action verbs.

I hope I never forget his expression of excitement when he names a train, color, or shape correctly before opening the flap.

8.  Good Morning, Good Night
It was a favorite last year and continues to intermittently be a bedtime favorite this year.  He continues to enjoy touching the fur of each animal, but more than that he enjoys opening the pages to reveal the "good night" portion of each animal.

Each page has a few sentences and illustration that focuses on the day.  Then, you open the page to reveal a few sentences and an illustration that focuses on sleeping.

9.   It's Great to Be an Engine - After spending Thanksgiving with my sister's family Bennett became obsessed with all things Thomas.  While the obsession was short lived, he continues to enjoy trains and songs involving Thomas the Train.


This book has several of the more popular Thomas songs with the words included on each page.  During the last month B has began singing the Thomas theme song, which is totally adorable.

10. Just Me and My Dad - And last, but certainly not least, is this book about a father/son camping trip.  B simply adores this book.  He loves the story and enjoys finding the spider and grasshopper on each page.

Is your child 2 to 3 years old?  Do you have any favorite books you would recommend? 

*The above links are affiliate links.  I do benefit if you buy from the links, but it is no additional cost to you.

Note: Several of the above books are not board books.  If you need board books and plan to order from the links I provided, please read the fine print.

Toddler Activity #6: Paper Towel Roll Downhill Slide

Several weeks ago I asked my mother-in-law to save her empty paper towel rolls, so that I could gather approximately 6-10 more quickly than if gathering on my own.  Why, you may ask?

B has been very interested in cars, and I have been wanting to improve his independence and safety with ascending/descending our stairs.  Therefore, I decided to make a downhill slide out of paper towel rolls, so he could have fun sending his matchbox cars downhill all while working on his climbing gross motor skill and his stair safety.

Plus, this is a great rainy day activity. 

What you need:

• Stairs (they don't have to be inside, you could use a few stairs you have outside.  However, the more stairs you have the faster and further the cars go, which little boys--and maybe little girls--seem to love.)
• Empty paper towel rolls (I used 6 for 10 stairs)
• Scissors
• Clear Masking Tape
• Toy that rolls (cars, trains, marbles, golf balls)

Sorry to state the obvious, but I have learned I have to.  DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CHILDREN UNATTENDED during this activity.  You know your child, so use common sense and do not give him/her small objects that he/she can not play with appropriately (i.e. put in mouth, throw, etc.).  I am fortunate that my almost 23 month old rarely puts objects in his mouth, but I realize some children are not safe with small objects until 3+.  You know what your child can and can not do, so don't complete this activity unless you know he/she is able to do so safely.

What to do:

• Cut paper towel rolls in half
• Tape each half together, so the uphill piece is always above the downhill piece.  Use a smooth tape like clear masking tape.

• Tape the downhill slide to the top step if you have hardwood.  If you have carpet, you will have to come up with another alternative to keep the slide in place.
• If you have hardwood, place a blanket at the bottom of the stairs, so the cars (or other objects) don't scratch the floor.  I did not do this at first, but my husband made sure to place one at the bottom when he got home :)

First, I demonstrated how to roll the cars down the slide.  Once he sent them all to the bottom, I verbally encouraged him to scoot down the stairs on his bottom 

(NOTE:  We have been working on this previously, so my son is safe to do this activity without assistance, but is always supervised.  Please, do not try this if your child has not been practicing descending stairs with you.  However, if your child is > 18 months old, walks well, and you are still carrying him/her down the stairs I would strongly encourage you to look up the developmental milestones for their age and begin allowing them to descend the stairs while holding your hand and a banister.)

At the bottom, I had him gather his cars and safely carry them back up the stairs while following him.  He has been able to ascend the stairs with ease for months; however, I still do not allow him to do it alone.  This particular day he had pockets in his shorts, but since that time my husband has given him a small bag with a zipper that he can easily use to carry the cars up the stairs safely.

I will admit B has not been ascending/descending the stairs every time.  We have 7 matchbox cars (I think), so he can send those down the slide fairly quickly.  I encourage him to climb up and down a few times and then I go and get them for him, or daddy is at the bottom and he tosses them back up the stairs to me.

I would definitely recommend this activity, but like so many other handmade activities it is not very sturdy.  We are still playing with our slide, but next time I will try to re-enforce the whole sliding surface (from the top of the stairs to the bottom) with one long piece of tape. The cars occasionally get caught on the small pieces of tape holding each half roll together and I have to smooth it down.

B is still asking to play with his cars on the slide every day!!

Tip #13:  Think about your child's gross motor skills (ie. walking, running, climbing, jumping, etc.).  How can you facilitate improvement with these activities?  Consider their current interests and try to incorporate them into their gross motor activities, as I have done with the Paper Towel Roll Slide.

10 Pre-Toddler (12-18 Month) Activities

Links to Toddler (18-24 Month) Activiites

• Toddler Activity #1: Flip Top Lid Fun
• Toddler Activity #2: Make Your Own Character Match Up Blocks
• Toddler Activity #3: Play Time in the SINK
• Toddler Activity #4: Make Your Own Bathtub Paint (a Pinterest Idea)
• Toddler Activity #5: Counting with Bowls

Toddler Activity (18-24 Month) #2: Make Your Own Character Match Up Blocks

We own these Melissa & Doug Farm Sound Blocks and over the last few weeks B has started to play with them on a regular basis.  He enjoys finding the halves that match.  When he places them in the wooden tray correctly the corresponding animal sound play.

I began thinking, "I could recreate the blocks (minus the animal noises) based on his favorite characters."  Currently, he loves the Sesame Street characters, so I decided to make my own set of matching character blocks. 

Supply List:

• 6 laminated print outs of your child's favorite character(s)
• 2 small styrofoam blocks (I found mine at the Dollar Tree for $1 each)
• Glue
• Scissors
• Patience 

Place each laminated print out face down and outline the 2 blocks back to back.

Use your lines as a guide and cut a few centimeters inside the lines you traced, excluding the middle line.  Cut directly through the middle.

Check the sizes by placing them on the styrofoam block making adjustments as needed.  Then, glue the 12 character pieces to each side of the block making sure each character matches up.  

I placed a book on top of mine allowing them to dry for two days before introducing them to my son.

Have your child name each character, find matching halves, and match them up correctly. 

Tip #9: Most of us see toys we think our children would enjoy on a regular basis; however, we can't (and shouldn't) buy them everything.  Examine the toy and think about the ways you could recreate it at home.

10 Pre-Toddler (12-18 Month) Activities

Links to Toddler (18-24 Month) Activiites

• Toddler Activity #1: Flip Top Lid Fun

Linking up with Living Life Intentionally

Toddler Activity (18-24 months) #1: Flip Top Lid Fun

Almost daily I look at things I throw away and ask myself, "Could B play with that in any way?"  Sometimes the answer is no and in the trash it goes, but as I continued to throw away plastic flip tops lids I thought, "This could help B improve his fine motor skills by opening/closing, stacking, and threading them."

I began saving flip tops lids from our:

• coffee creamer
• salad dressing
• Vitamins
• other condiments
• shampoo bottles

Once I had saved 8+, I gave them to my son with a few ribbons and showed him how to:

• open and close each one
• thread a ribbon through the openings (sorry about the blur, we like to shake them while they are on the ribbon)

• pull them off the ribbon

• stack them

• place other objects inside them

If you try this at home, I would love to hear other ways you and your toddler used flip-top lids, so leave a comment and let me know.

Tip #8:  Does your child have a toy he/she struggles to play with (ie. puzzles, shape sorter, etc.)?  Try to break it down (in your head) into more simple steps until your child can complete the whole process.  For example, instead of focusing on fitting the shapes through the shape sorter hole, first encourage them to match each shape to the correct hole. 

Be sure to check out 10 other activities for 12+ months

Linking up with Living Life Intentionally, No Time For Flash Cards, and  I Can Teach My Child