Best New Baby Books of the Year

A brand-new board book about dancing dinosaurs from the beloved and bestselling Sandra Boynton!

Join Boynton’s lively prehistoric bunch as they get everyone’s tails shaking for a feet-stomping good time.

Whether they dance the Shimmy Shimmy Shake, the Quivery Quake, or just decide to Cha-Cha-Cha, young readers are sure to giggle along with these adorable creatures that are ready for a ROARING good time!

Each truck and big machine in these enticing rhyming poems is different — and little readers are invited to find a vehicle that’s like them.

Sixteen boisterous, rhyming poems — each one highlighting the job and personality of a different vehicle, from a backhoe to an ambulance to a snowplow — invite young children to meet their favorite trucks face-to-face.

Cheerful illustrations show each one in action, digging (or dozing, or dumping) away.

Engaging visual details like an anxious turtle crossing the street just ahead of a steamroller are sure to keep preschoolers poring over the pages as they consider the question, “Trucks as far as eyes can see. . . . Which truck would you like to be?”

Get cooking with Llama Llama in this scratch-and-sniff board book!

Llama Llama and his Mama are in the kitchen whipping up some delicious treats!

Join in the fun by reading along with this super-sweet story and scratching and sniffing the fun scents on each spread, like pickles and ice cream sundaes!

Accurate enough to satisfy an expert, yet simple enough for baby, this book explores the basics of flight – from birds, to planes and rockets – and ties it all to baby’s world.

Beautiful, visually stimulating illustrations complement age-appropriate language to encourage baby’s sense of wonder.

Parents and caregivers may learn a thing or two, as well!

All aboard for a rainbow of train cars and their lively animal crew!

Vivid colors and cozy rhyming text inspired by the bestselling Steam Train, Dream Train will make learning colors a rich experience for the smallest readers.

It’s Duncan’s birthday, and all the crayons want to make him a card!

With their fun and quirky illustrations of firetrucks, dragons, and (dare we say?) wheat, these creative crayons each have something different to contribute.

When they come together, they can make something truly spectacular to celebrate Duncan’s birthday! From the creative minds behind the The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home, comes a fun board book introducing young readers to colors.

In this silly playtime rhyme, young readers will burst into giggles as they fit their fingers through die-cut holes and make them wiggle and squirm while a hungry little monster tries to gobble up every last bite!

Parents play the part of the monster and “eat up” their laughing little ones fingers, turning the pages to make the holes disappear one by one until there are no wigglers left.

Then start back at the beginning, this time with mom or dad’s fingers in the holes–if they’re willing to risk it!

All hail King Baby! He greets his adoring public with giggles and wiggles and coos, posing for photos and allowing hugs and kisses.

But this royal ruler also has many demands, and when his subjects can’t quite keep up, King Baby takes matters into his own tiny hands.

Created by Kate Beaton, author of The Princess and the Pony and #1 New York Times bestsellers Hark! A Vagrant and Step Aside, Pops!, this modern, funny, and (let’s be honest) realistic take on life with a new baby is the perfect gift for anyone with an adorable little monarch in their world.

Introduce little ones to the colors black and white in this bold and graphic board book by illustrator and textile designer Jane Foster.

In this beautiful and sophisticated black and white board book, children will be introduced to bold, black and white images, such as penguins, pandas, zebras, polar bears, and more!

Tiny readers can trace bumpy, shiny, glittery trails in this board book perfect for little hands with its activities that teach them about shapes, matching, and sorting, and help develop hand-eye coordination and pre-writing motor skills.

As they follow the trails, whether straight, wavy, or loopy, toddlers can trace the path of an unloading dump truck or help firefighters rescue a kitten from a tree.

Peepholes on each spread show which truck will show up next, and a mix-and-match game at the end of the book with four glittery trails puts all the learned skills together, prompting toddlers to match each truck to its correct destination.

With just three or four words per page, this story follows a baby owl one night as he leaves the safety of his nest (Home/Mama/Brother/Sister) and explores the starry world around him (Soar/Glide/Swoop/Swoosh).

Inspired by reverse poetry, the words reverse in the middle when the baby owl is startled upon seeing his reflection in the pond (Owl/Sees/Owl).

Afraid of it, little owl takes off toward home, soaring over farms and forests (Swoosh/Swoop/Glide/Soar) until he is finally safely home again (Sister/Brother/Mama/Home).

Filled with dreamy, colorful art, this is the perfect soothing bedtime book for little children.

The rhythmic text is just right for gently lulling them to sleep while cuddly rabbits, bears, dogs, and even a dragonfly each take turns tucking in their little ones.

The gentle pacing and sweet pictures will be sure to elicit lots of oohs, aahs, and . . . zzzzzzs!

Featuring novelty elements such as cut-away pages and foil effects, this is a cozy and delightful bedtime book for parents and children to share.

Leo, Lola’s little brother from Leo Loves Baby Time, is back in a new adventure at the pool. Leo and Daddy go to swim class where they kick, bounce, and dive like little fish.

Joining other babies and their caretakers in the pool is a guarantee for unforgettable fun.

Terry Border uses his funny food characters to create a a counting story perfect for his youngest fans.

His Peanut People will dazzle kids with their group stunts as they go from 1 to 10.

Readers young, old, and everywhere in between will fall head over heels for this hilarious board book starring Terry Border’s beloved punny characters.

This photographic board book from the creators of the blabla brand follows sleepy, sleepy Wooly as he gets ready for bed while, along the way, getting into one funny moment after another.

Introduce children to sounds in this tabbed, brightly illustrated board book! In this first concept book, little ones can turn the tabbed pages to learn different sounds in their world!

The spreads feature a jungle, a town, a home, a farm, and a pond.

The reader is  prompted with “What can you hear?”, and the noises that the animals or objects on the page make are included.

From Rod Campbell, the bestselling creator of the beloved classic Dear Zoo, comes an all-new board book about your favorite animals!

What will the zoo send you? With bright, colorful artwork and easy-to-turn shaped, sturdy pages, Dear Zoo Animal Shapes is a hands-on, engaging way for little ones to find out more about their favorite animals.

The sky is dark and the Opposite Zoo is CLOSED. But the monkey’s cage is OPEN! Time to explore…

Follow the monkey as he visits all the animals in the zoo: fast and slow, big and small, noisy and quiet, soft and prickly!

Filled with energetic illustrations, friendly animals, and a clear, simple text — all wrapped up in a gorgeous package — The Opposite Zoo is a fun and lively introduction to animals and opposites for the youngest picture-book audience.

Follow the antics of a curious baby and his silly old dog in this funny, rhythmic, and joyful picture book from Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka.

It’s a first picture book perfect for toddlers, and the perfect gift for that stylish baby shower! Toddlers don’t want lessons — they need stories.

Toddler-aged Bobby’s breakfast-to-bedtime story provides words for things, actions, and feelings younger children know about, but may not be able to name — from meals to playtime to a final reassuring goodnight kiss.

Printed cloth tabs signal the start of each section — and add special value and gift-appeal.