Olivia's Favorite Books (12-24 Months)

It’s Liv’s birthday week and I’m still feelin’ all the feels. It’s like what’s next – Kindergarten? A driver’s license? College?!? I told her to stay my baby forever and she’s not, so I think that’s grossly unfair and I’d like to speak to a manager. HA. All jokes aside, my baby turns TWO YEARS OLD this week (didja catch Taco TWOsday? What a fiesta!), and this is HER week on CUR. Thankfully, Olivia is an *avid* reader. Girlfriend wakes up and immediately wants to “Ree!”, so to say we’ve got a bookworm on our hands is an understatement. Today I’m sharing a roundup of Olivia’s favorite books – basically, the best books for the 12-24 month age range.

Pat the Bunny – This book is from – wait for it – the 60’s. We passed mine down to Liv, and she loveloveloved it so much it was completely destroyed, taped up with packaging tape, and now lives via a binder ring. It’s simple but engaging since there’s a call to action on each page (patting the bunny, looking in the mirror, waving hello, etc).
Peek-a-Who – Another hit for MONTHS – great for younger ones who like lifting flaps and playing peek-a-boo. Liv has loved hers hard and I think bit a piece off of it. HA.
Peekababy books – Another favorite for peekaboo play! We’ve had 3 or 4 on our shelf so far, and at least two have been so beloved that flaps are missing because Liv flipped them so hard.
The Berenstain Bears, Bears on Wheels – Fair warning: You’ll hate this one as a parent because it’s annoying AF to read. LOL. Buuuuut I have to include since this list ain’t up to me. 😉 Maybe the repetition is what she likes so much? Either way, brace yo’self for counting a lot of bears on wheels..
First 100 Board Book Box Set – This box set is classic and SO great for learning different “real life” pictures, shapes, etc.
Goodnight Moon – I mean, did you even have childhood if you don’t know this book?
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom – My personal favorite from my own childhood so I’m STOKED that the OG loveloveloves just as much! Absolute MUST on your baby’s bookshelf!
Little Bert’s Book of Numbers – Another throwback from the 90’s – although it was made in the 80’s I believe! This was apparently one of my own personal faves when I was Liv’s age, so my mom again hit it up with packing tape and passed it along and Liv has gone back to it for months on months.
Sesame Street We’re Different We’re the Same – I absolutely loveloveLOVE this one, especially for starting to teach your kiddo about diversity. It’s done so beautifully – the illustrations are magical and have all of the beloved Sesame Street characters, and each page highlights the differences of a specific feature (like how different everyone’s noses may look), then highlights how they’re the same (like how all noses are used to sniff flowers, etc). This should be on every single kid’s bookshelf, in my humble opinion!
Goldlilocks – IDK what it is, but Liv is INTO Goldlilocks lately. I mean like read it three times in a row before naptime into it. Maybe it’s because my character voices are ON POINT (LOL), but this is a fan favorite fosho!
Pookie series – Pookie first came under our roof thanks to Katie, who bought Liv Spooky Pookie this time last year. And LET ME TELL YOU – Pookie is a hit. First of all, I think my personal favorite book is Spooky Pookie because it’s just so dang CUTE. But we now own a Pookie book box set, and each one is truly adorable.
Pete the Kitty books – Liv is now into the Pete the Kitty/Pete the Cat stories after I found the motherload of paperbacks at Costco recently. They’re cute stories with fun illustrations and they’re a perfect length for a ~24-month-old attention span. Some of her faves so far are the Trip to the Supermarket one, and when they find a caterpillar!
Livi & Grace – I can’t find this gem online for the life of me, but one of YOU actually sent this one our way last Christmas! (Thanks Pamela!). It is SUCH a sweet story about sisters named Livi & Grace (apt for Olivia Grace – ha!), and Liv loves it so much because she’s convinced it’s a story all about the fun things that Mommy and Olivia do together (since one apparently looks like me and the other like her? Ha!).
My Mom is Magical – Not gonna lie…pretty stoked this made her list of favorite books. 😉 It’s a cute little board book with very bright neon colors that I picked up on a whim at TJMaxx, and it’s really great for mother-daughter snuggle time if I do say so myself.
Fiona the Hippo – OK PLEASE TELL ME you know about Fiona??? Right?????? Fiona the Hippo is a real life hippo who was born premature in Cleveland and is now thriving, so her story is all the more special to us. Also, Liv LOVES hippos. Every single page has hippos so she yells “EPPO!” constantly, and it’s got the sweetest repeated phrase with the little hippo saying, “I’ve got this!” that Liv now is learning to repeat out loud as I read, so it’s essentially the cutest thing ever. Really really well-done illustrations, the cutest story of strength…just yes.
To the Moon and Back for You – Fair warning: I cry reading this. This is the PERFECT gift for a new mama of a rainbow baby, or a mom who had any trouble at all conceiving or bringing her baby home, whatever that may look like. It’s beautiful and I think more for moms than the kids almost??? Just a truly sentimental book and so, so gorgeous.
The Adventures of Otitis – Have to include Otitis here because one of my best friend’s wrote this book about her rescue cat! He’s truly the man, the myth, the legend the book paints him to be – it’s a heartwarming story of finding your people that love you just the way you are. Probably best for I’d say 3 and up since it’s a true “children’s book,” but Liv still loves it…maybe because Aunt Molly wrote it. 😉
The Wonderful Things You’ll Be – #1 bestseller with over 9,000 5-star reviews for a reason! Great rhymes, too.
ABC for Me: ABC What Can She Be, Girls Can Be Anything They Want to Be, from A to Z – I’m jumping the gun including this one here because I JUST bought Liv this, but I personally think it’s awesome so I had to include. Ha!
I Love Classical Music (My First Sound Book) – These are PHENOMENAL! Each page has a little sensor on it that little fingers can touch, and it plays a clip from a classic piece. I actually keep them in her crib so that she can play herself some music if she’s having trouble falling asleep or wants to wake up to it after a nap, and I have no doubt it’s been great for her brain, too. 😉
I Love Mozart (My First Sound Book) – Another one of these – and I have the Nutcracker one ready to gift her for the holiday season!
Baby’s First Bible Boxed Set – This is a GREAT box set and a great gift idea for any lil’ Christian baby – there are four books and each are so cute and so well done. The stories are simple but real, the illustrations are cute, and they’re nice hard board books for this age. Liv’s first favorite was the Jesus book (she calls him “JEE-YA!”), and now she’s really into Noah’s Ark since she has a play ark to go with it!

Lastly, just wanted to share our two main storage solution for Liv’s books! First being in her room – I got from Etsy and painted it myself, and have these shelves. We try to rotate what’s on these shelves pretty frequently and I just lovelovelove the way it looks in the room.

This build-in shelf on our kitchen island was a GODSEND when we bought the house, namely since it’s Liv’s main area for books! If you’re in the process of building a house or considering what to add on for future kids…DO THIS. It’s the most helpful thing since it keeps her occupied where we are most of the time, and it’s in easy reach of the family room then, too, for snuggly reading time on the couch.