8 Books We’re Loving Right Now {18 Months}

Okay, so she’s actually 19 months and closer to 20 months, but for simplicity’s sake, 18 months (or a year and a half) is more generalized. Also, she’s been reading these book for several months, so it’s more like “Books We’re Loving Right Now (1 year—18 months).”

Oh, and I say “we,” because goodness knows the parent needs to like the book, too. There are several books now sitting on the top shelf, because I frankly can’t stand reading them. Either they’re too old for her (too many words at this point), or the story just annoys me. If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy, right?

These are the books that we practically have memorized. They’re the ones she’ll ask for either by name or by pointing to them, and she’s learned something from all of them, which I love. Of course we read more books (we try to stick to three each night, otherwise I’ll be in there reading to her until the sun comes up), but these are the favorites:

1. Night Night, Baby. I picked this book up on a whim from TJMaxx many, many moons ago, and I’m SO happy I did. We both love this book! The colors are bold, and the characters are cartoony, but there are enough things for her to point out while I’m reading it to keep her entertained. She reads along with this book during parts, which is just adorable. The rhyming and repetition are good (keeps things short and sweet), and for awhile there she would ask to read this over and over again at night. I really need to buy more from this author.

2. If Kisses Were Colors. We got this as a gift and I’m actually surprised she loves it. The illustrations have a hand-drawn look, and are almost a little quirky and whimsical, while the text is a little more advanced (but still simple enough for a baby). I’m not sure why I didn’t think she’d like it, but she loves it. She points out all of the animals, the rocks, the flowers, and trees, and it was in our top three rotation for a very long time. (She actually would bring it with her when she’d leave the room, and we lost it for awhile, but recently found it again.) This is another book that I need to buy more of from the author.


3. Love You Forever.
I actually had this book on the top shelf for awhile, because I figured
it’d be one for her to read when she’s older. There’s a lot of text,
and even though it’s super popular, it’s not exactly a board book for
babies. But she proved me wrong. I can just now read almost everything
on the pages before she wants to turn to the next page, but before that
she was infatuated by the pictures—she would stare at them for minutes (which is like hours for a baby),
and luckily there are enough items to point out to her to keep her
entertained. Before I could get around to reading everything on the
page, I’d just rock her back and forth and say the familiar “I love you
forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my baby you’ll
be.” 

4. Who is Coming to Our House? This book is full of animals, which is the main reason she likes it, and I like it because it tells a super basic story of Mary and Joseph looking for a resting for Jesus, which is a great introductory into the Christmas stroy. The words rhyme and it tells a cute story of the animals preparing the manger for the arrival of their guests.

5. Hey! Wake Up! We have several Sandra Boyton books, but this is one of my favorites. The rhymes are fun and it has a good flow to it. There are fun things to act out: “Yawn, stretch, touch your toes. Shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, wiggle your nose!” Ironically, we read this book mostly at night.

6. If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. This was on sale at Kohl’s last summer, and the cupcake lover in me couldn’t resist it. It’s a little advanced for her, but she really likes looking at all of the pictures. I usually make up my own shortened version of the story, because she wants to flip the pages so quickly, but I have a feeling this will be a book that she’ll grow up with.

7. Goodnight Moon. This was another one I was hesitant about, and I don’t know why. I just couldn’t understand why it was so popular and I wanted to give other books a chance first. But low and behold, she loves this one. Its simple wording and big graphics make it appealing for little hands and eyes. She stares at the pages and after she’s found everything she’s looking for, she’ll turn the page.

8. Go the F**k to Sleep. Have you heard about this book? It’s effing fantastic, especially for those nights that your child just won’t sleep. And, okay, she may not love this book, but she does point to it and beg me to read it to her some nights, despite the fact that it’s on the top shelf. I omit the bad word, of course, but I do get a huge kick out of her wanting to read this. I think she’s attracted to the tigers on the front, since she always says, “Roar!” when she wants to read it. If you need a baby shower gift (for a couple with a sense of humor), this is an awesome choice! Also, there’s a new one out by the same author called, You Have to F*****g Eat, that I plan on buying ASAP.

 
We have a lot of other books we read, but these have been the biggies for the past few months. If you need a book suggestion for a one year old, any of these would be great, since they’ll grow into them (so to speak).

I’d love to hear what your kids’ favorite books are! Leave a comment with their favorite books and how old they are! This mama needs some ideas for someone’s Christmas gift and upcoming birthday!