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20 Best Books for 2-Year-Olds Who Love to Hear Stories

These reads are definitely toddler-approved!

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best books for 2 year olds

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At 2 years old, toddlers are capable of telling you which books they'd like you to read them — often the same ones over and over. And you should take them up on it: There are nothing but benefits to story time. Reading out loud to kids exposes them to words and helps them increase their language and cognitive capacity, the Child Mind Institute notes. And research out of the University of Ohio shows that kids who are read just one book a day will hear about 290,000 more words by age 5 than those who aren't regularly read to. Even grasping board books and turning pages are good for fine motor coordination. And of course, there's also the warm-feeling, cozy benefits of snuggling up with your toddler and a good book.

When it comes to story time with your toddler, the American Academy of Pediatrics notes that 2-year-olds are capable of selecting the books, repeating some of the words or phrases you read aloud to them and asking questions like, "What's that?" (You might want to prompt them with your own questions, too.) But while the toddlers can pluck the books off the shelves, stocking the library is up to you, and you're going to want to fill them with the best reads out there.

These are the best books for 2-year-olds in 2023. Many of them are current and past Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Award winners, meaning they were approved by librarians and literacy experts and then tested by real families with toddlers. Others are classics that have stood the test of time. But no matter which ones the toddlers choose, you're both in for a treat!

Looking for more great reads? Check out these Good Housekeeping guides:

The Best Books for 1-Year-Olds | The Best Books for 3-Year-Olds | The Best Books for 4-Year-Olds

Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Award Winner

Bee

Bee
Credit: ‎ Doubleday Books for Young Readers

Written and illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

A honeycomb-like, hexagonal die-cut lets kids peek through the pages as they follow along in a story about a bee. As it goes between the flowers and back to the hive, the text explains why bees are so important to the health of the planet. Ages 0 – 3

Interactive Dinosaur Book

Roar! I’m a Dinosaur

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Credit: HarperFestival

Written and illustrated by Merrill Rainey

Dino enthusiasts will love flipping through the pages of this book and seeing all different types of dinosaur. But the real fun begins when they actually get to become the stegosaurus, brontosaurus and T-rex. When the book is opened all the way, two die-cut holes turn the pages into a mask that kids can hold up to their faces (or yours). Ages 0 – 4

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Story Done Mostly in Pictures

Good Night, Gorilla

Good Night, Gorilla
Credit: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Written and illustrated by Peggy Rathmann

It's hard to say that you can "read" this book out loud in the traditional sense, since there are very few words in it. Instead, the illustrations tell the story of a dutiful zookeeper who says goodnight to all the animals, and the mischievous gorilla who takes the keys and lets them all out. Toddlers love discovering the gorilla's plan — and figuring out where the animals want to spend the night. (Spoiler alert: It's the zookeeper's room.) Ages 0 – 3

Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Award Winner

Look, it's Woof Woof Dog

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Look, it's Woof Woof Dog

Written by Camilla Reid, illustrated by Clare Youngs

There are so many features to this book that kept our toddler testers engaged: The illustrations of all the animals — a Woof Woof Dog, a Quack Quack Duck and so on — are done in an interesting, collage style that really catches the eye. There are also felt flaps throughout that let kids look for more hidden creatures. And, best of all, according to our testers, there's a mirror in the back that asks, "What do YOU say?" All of it kept our readers captivated. Ages 0 – 3

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Become a Puppet!

A Bedtime Hug for You!

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A Bedtime Hug for You!

Written by Samantha Sweeney, illustrated by Dawn Machell

Stick your fingers through the die-cut holes in this book, and they transform into puppet arms. Throughout the story, different baby animals are heading off to sleep, and asking for one more bedtime hug. Will your puppet fingers oblige? The arms were a hit with Good Housekeeping Institute testers, who reported that the kids liked slipping their own fingers in and trying to give the hugs, which is "a genius way to build fine motor skills,” one mom noted. Ages 2 – 5

A 50+-Year-Old Classic

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Credit: Henry Holt and Co.

Written by Bill Martin Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle

By asking, "What do you see?" over and over again, this book invites kids to take a closer look at the illustrations — a good thing, because the pictures were done by the inimitable Eric Carle. The story asks the question of a purple cat, a blue horse and a yellow duck, among others, so toddlers will also get to practice naming their colors. Ages 2 – 5

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Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Award Winner

Little Faces Big Feelings

Little Faces Big Feelings
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Credit: Little Feminist Press

Written by Amy Morrison

Great for social-emotional learning, Little Faces Big Feelings describes a different emotion on each left-hand page, while the accompanying right-hand page shows an array of photos of people showing that emotion. On the last page, there's a mirror that lets kids try and show the same feeling on their own faces. Testers — especially ones with neurodiverse kids — really appreciated the variety of different, real faces throughout the book. Ages 1 – 6

Bilingual Book for 2-Year-Olds

My Party, Mi Fiesta

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Credit: Versify

Written and illustrated by Raúl l the Third, colors by Elaine Bay

It's time for a celebration! Whether it's friends or amigos, cake or pastel, music or música, this book goes through all the parts of a birthday party in both English and Spanish. Ages 0 – 3

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Series Starter

Corduroy

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Corduroy
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Credit: Viking Books for Young Readers

Written and illustrated by Don Freeman

When a shopper informs Corduroy, a teddy bear for sale in a department store, that he's missing a button, he waits until night and goes on an adventure trying to find it. In the end, he finds out he was really looking for a friend. If your toddler is enamored of the overalls-clad bear, there's a series of Corduroy books that follow, including Corduory Takes a Bow, written by Oscar-winner Viola Davis. Ages 0 – 3

Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Award Winner

Mail Duck Helps a Friend

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Mail Duck Helps a Friend
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Credit: Harry N. Abrams

Written and illustrated by Erica Sirotich

The delightful Mail Duck helps toddlers review their colors through a sweet story: When Mail Quail is feeling ill, Mail Duck looks for colorful items that might act as medicine, from orange pumpkin soup to minty green tea. Kids have to lift the flaps to discover the items. “I haven't seen my 2-year-old daughter this engaged in a book in months,” one parent tester said. Ages 0 – 3

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Make It Part of Your Daily Ritual

The Going to Bed Book

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The Going to Bed Book

Written and illustrated by Sandra Boynton

All of Sandra Boynton's books are populated with a cast of whimsical animals, and it's hard to go wrong with any of them. This one shows animals on a cruise ship (hilarious) going through the steps to get ready for bed, from doing light calisthenics (even more hilarious) to brushing their teeth. It's a great one if you have a bedtime-avoider at home, since it'll reinforce the idea of a good bedtime routine. Ages 0 – 4

Learn Letters

Harold's ABC

Harold's ABC
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Credit: HarperFestival

Written and illustrated by Crockett Johnson

Harold takes his magic purple crayon and draws an adventure that takes him through all the letters of the alphabet. Toddlers can follow along, practicing their letters and matching them to the sounds that go with them. Ages 2 – 4

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Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Award Winner

Alma, Head to Toe/Alma, de pies a cabeza

Alma, Head to Toe/Alma, de pies a cabeza
Credit: Candlewick Press

Written and illustrated Juana Martinez-Neal

Primer books are huge with toddlers, who use them to practice everything from counting and numbers to colors and shapes. This book is a two-for-one primer, in that it goes over 15 different parts of the body in both English and Spanish. Good Housekeeping Institute parent testers appreciated the bilingual nature and how different-colored text made it easy for kids to distinguish the English words from the Spanish ones. Ages 2 – 5

For Fans of 'Goodnight Moon'

The Runaway Bunny

The Runaway Bunny
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Credit: HarperFestival

Written by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd

If they've already worn out their copies of Goodnight Moon (and its even more impressionistic companion book, My World), there's still more ways to enjoy Margaret Wise Brown's lyrical prose and Clement Hurd's sweet illustrations. In it, a mother and child bunny play an imaginary game of hide-and-seek — and no matter how far the little one says he'll go, the mother always vows to find him. The mother/child aspect to the story makes this a great gift for first Mother's Days or baby showers. Ages 0 – 4

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Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Award Winner

My Hair Is Like the Sun

My Hair Is Like the Sun
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Credit: Chronicle Books

Written and photographed by St. Clair Detrick-Jules, illustrated by Tabitha Brown

The photographs of actual kids in this book were a big hit with Good Housekeeping Institute testers. “The real pictures of kids with their awesome natural hair are very cool," one dad tester said, "especially since my boys don’t see kids with hair like theirs too often." The story is told in rhymes that compare natural hair to beautiful elements in nature, like the sun, stars and trees. Ages 0 – 3

Great Bedtime Book

I'm Still Up!

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Credit: Clarion Books

Written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis

Toddlers will certainly be able to relate to the main character in this book — a baby that refuses to go to bed. The baby fights sleep until the last page, when it finally nods off. (And maybe the toddlers in your life will, too?) While the kids loved the book, it was the Good Housekeeping Institute parent testers who really got a kick out of it, and it kept them giggling to the end. If it's a hit, there's a companion book, I'm Up, about waking up for the day. Ages 0 – 3

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STEM Book for 2-Year-Olds

8 Little Planets

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Credit: Sourcebooks Explore

Written by Chris Ferrie, illustrated by Lizzy Doyle

This book takes readers on a rhyming trip through the solar system, offering info (and adorable illustrations) about the planets along the way. The pages have a big die-cut at the center (with a smiling sun in the middle), which little ones can learn to grasp. Ages 0 – 3

Encourages Grit

Whistle for Willie

Whistle for Willie
Credit: Viking Books for Young Readers (

Written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats

Fans of The Snowy Day will recognize Peter, the urban-dwelling protagonist of many Ezra Jack Keats story. But whether the toddlers in your life live in a city or not, they'll relate this story about a kid who really, really wants to learn how to whistle so he can call his dog. He tries all sorts of tricks, like putting on his dad's hat to feel more grown up, but ultimately it's all the practicing that works in the end. It helps toddlers — who often want to do things for themselves they're not quite great at yet — to try, try again when they don't master new skills the first time. Ages 0 – 3

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Simple Words and Ilustrations

Yummy Yucky

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Yummy Yucky
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Credit: Candlewick

Written and illustrated by Leslie Patricelli

The intrepid baby in this book goes through pairs of items and declares them — you guessed it — either yummy or yucky. ("Yucky" things include soap, stinky socks and blue crayons, poor kid.) After reading it aloud with your toddler, you can talk about their favorite and least favorite foods and make your own "yummy" and "yucky" lists. Ages 0 – 3

Great for Travel

Little Green Boxed Set of Bright and Early Board Books

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Credit: Random House Books for Young Readers

Written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss

It's hard to choose just one book by Dr. Seuss — so don't. This set comes with four of his classics, and they're both smaller in size and packaged in a box with a handle, which makes them great for travel. In the box, you'll get Fox in Socks; Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?; There's a Wocket in My Pocket! and Dr. Seuss's ABC. Ages 0 – 3

Headshot of Marisa LaScala
Marisa LaScala
Senior Parenting & Relationships Editor

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky. 

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