In our house, we love to read. So much so, for my baby shower I requested guests give books in lieu of a card. Luckily, friends and family happily obliged so we were set up with a pretty stellar library right from the get-go.

We were also gifted with a range of books for different ages, interests, and seasons. This allows for a pretty steady reading rotation before nap, during our bedtime routine as well as randomly throughout the day.

Here are a few of my toddler's current favourites (baby likes them too, he just can't communicate that yet). As an added bonus, there's an educational component built-in with each selection.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.

This one is so popular, we read it nearly every day and sometimes multiple times a day. My oldest takes so much pride in 'reading' each page since it uses repetition. You also learn animals and colours in the process. As an aside, I picked up the companion book Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? for my baby boy during Christmas and the two of them love looking at the pages together and pressing the buttons to make the animal noises.

Shapes Are Everywhere by Charles Ghigna

Right now we are working on learning shapes and although this board book lacks any real story line, it fits the bill. It's funny how sometimes we'll be reading and I'll think my toddler is completely ignoring me but somehow through osmosis the key phrases stick. I swear I'll quiz him during the day by dropping a line from the book like, “What shape is a melon slice before you take a bite?” and he'll smile up at me and say, “triangle.”

Alphabet by Matthew Van Fleet

For the longest time I kept this book safely tucked away in the closet knowing full well how used and abused paper books or pop up books are in our house. Board books for the win! My fears were founded, and although this one has definitely experienced a few rips and tears - what does it really matter if they’re learning and enjoying being read to, right? Alphabet stands the test of time because there is a lot to look at visually in this interactive book. Not only are there sensory materials built-in on every page, you can search for additional animals and plants for each letter and it even comes with a fold-out poster to work through.

It made me laugh when the other night my husband remarked at what a “genius” our oldest is. Exact quote, "I was pointing to the animals on the cover and he knew each one! Some of them I even had to flip to the page and double check. It wasn't just a fish, it was a parrot fish. Not a monkey but a Tamarin."

Ten Little Fingers And Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox

I can promise you that this book is the only reason my oldest son has learned to count to ten. Got to love repetition right? I'll never forget driving home one day and suddenly from the back seat I hear him say 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10. I almost swerved into oncoming traffic with shock and awe. I think before that he knew 1-2-4 (not a typo, he always skipped over number 3). Every page we count each of his fingers and each of his toes and he loves it. Now I'm working on getting him counting up to 20.

I Love You More by Laura Duksta

Saved one of my personal faves for last, although the boys love this one too. Is it just me or are there very few books that feature the special relationship of a mother and son? Well, this one is so sweet because it shows just that, and from both perspectives. First you read about how much the mother loves the son and then once you get half way through the book, you literally flip it over and start the story from the back, where you read how much the son loves the mother. The concept of the flip is that the story never ends and neither does the love - I'm not crying, you're crying.

So, there's our round up of current favorites. It's so neat that we have reached a point where requests for specific reads are coming about; although I'm sure we're also nearing the 'one more book' bedtime stall tactic too.

Head over to chapters.indigo.ca to purchase any of the above books, or shop using the links below:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr

Shapes Are Everywhere by Charles Ghigna

Alphabet by Matthew Van Fleet

Ten Little Fingers And Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox

I Love You More by Laura Duksta