Theodore's Reading List: Great Books for One Year Olds

Theodore is finally interested in reading books!  He has always shown an interest in books, eating them, flipping through them, ripping them, writing in them, kind of listening when mama reads them, etc.; but now he is finally focused enough to bring me a book, sit on my lap, and help me read a book cover to cover.  It is pretty adorable.

We finally even have it in the bedtime routine now, that I will go sit on my bed and ask Theodore to go pick out a book.  I'm always excited to see what he brings.  Apparently, these are his top picks, because they continue to be repeat selections. 

1.  Kitten's first Full Moon by Kevin Henkes.  This seems to be the top pick, as it was the one Theodore immediately opened when I set him in the center of these books for this picture.  The black and white pictures, and subject matter must appeal to him. (milk and a kitten-two of his favorite things).

2.  Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems.  Theo grabbed this book next.  He absolutely loves going down to the laundry room (he gets to holler in a long echoing hallway), and apparently likes to hear about Trixie's own tale of a laundry mat visit.  This book has black and white backgrounds, with the characters in color.

3.  Rhymes and Reasons by James C. Christensen.  This over-sized book is another favorite of Theodore's, and illustrates many common children's rhymes.  There are full sized pages, and half pages inside.  Mama and dada find this one interesting because it gives some historical background on each of the rhymes.  It was a great yard sale buy at $0.50. 

4.  If you Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond.  This one may be my favorite more than Theo's.  I like the circular theme of these books, and never get tired of going through the "if... then" statements. 

5.  Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.  This classic from my own kindergarten days is also a hit with Theodore.  He loves to hear about the letters going up the tree, and the catastrophe that happens.

6.  Corduroy's Party by Don Freeman and Lisa McCue.  Grandma E. has been giving Theodore a series of Corduroy books throughout the year, and these board book editions capture Theodore's attention.  He also has an actual bear who gets to read along sometimes too.

7.  Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?   The classic children's book authors/illustrators Bill Jr Martin and Eric Carle combine in this board book, that is enhanced by sliding flaps on each page previewing the next animal that will be "seen".  Very engaging, this was probably one of Theodore's first favorites.

8.  Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!  Another one by Mo Willems, this is part of mama's favorite series about "Just Saying No" to the tiresome bird.  Perhaps the cameo by Knuffle Bunny is what makes this particular book Theo's favorite.

Honorable Mention to this rainbow book.  I thought we were done, but Theodore wanted to add this book as well.  It is a nice story about the colors of the rainbow, and each turn of the page adds another color to the ribbony feature.