Boost Your Toddler’s Learning with these Educational Books for 2-Year-Olds
“Can you point to your nose?” my husband asked our baby as he held him on his knee.
He giggled and pointed to his nose, much to my amazement.
As a first-generation college graduate, I never considered my role in my children’s education until I saw for myself, their desire to learn at a young age. It was then that I realized I was their first teacher. Before they ever sat down at a desk, I would teach them about the world around them and give them the language skills they needed to understand it.
One of my favorite ways to teach them is through reading.
Reading with your kids is already laying a foundation for early education because literacy is the foundation of learning. But, if you want to bump it up a notch, you can also start introducing new skills to your child through books that you read.
Start with these educational books for 2-year-olds to teach your child numbers, shapes, ABCs, colors, body parts, and animals. And your child will be on their way to a bright future.
How to Read Educational Books to Your 2-Year-Old
At 2, your child’s capacity to learn is at its height. This is due to a spurt in brain development (Sriram, 2020). This critical period of brain development makes the ages between 2 and 7 one of the most critical periods in brain development (Sriram, 2020).
It’s the perfect time to start introducing new concepts to children.
However, education at this age should be informal. Play is fundamental in brain development (Dewar, 2023). Don’t expect your child to sit down and do homework or listen while you lecture him from a chalkboard. Children at this age learn by exploring.
At 2, children are also great at detecting any agenda you may have. Even if your child loves reading books, you may notice a refusal to read if you start pushing reading or reading specific books. Combat this by letting him take the lead. Introduce something and then back off and let your child engage with it.
Find more tips for reading with your child in my email series on raising readers.
Educational Books for 2-Year-Olds
Let’s Learn to Count
At 2 years old, it’s good to begin familiarizing your child with counting from 1-10. The following books will help introduce counting to your child.
Never Touch the Bugs by Rosie Greening
These Never Touch the Books all focus on counting in a fun way. Children will count down from five as they watch each bug disappear.
Each of the books in the Never Touch the…series–Never Touch the Bugs*, Never Touch the Dinosaurs, Never Touch the Monsters!, Never Touch the Wild Animals, and Never Touch the Sharks–includes counting along with the silicone touch and feel pieces that this series is known for.
For more counting practice, count the bugs on each page or have your child count down on their fingers.
Dinosaur Dig! by Penny Dale
This is one of those books that seems unimpressive to adults but hit the right age and your child will love it. It’s a book about dinosaurs doing construction. It has dinosaurs, it has counting, and it has construction sounds that your child will love to imitate. If you have a boy (or girl who loves these things too), you can’t go wrong with this one.
Dinosaur Dig! familiarizes your child with counting to 10. Even if your child isn’t ready for numbers yet, this will help make them familiar when they are.
For more counting practice, count the dinosaurs on each page with your child.
Curious Toddler Learning NUMBERS 1 2 3 Counting with Animals by Kropka Publishing
I love this counting book for its bright colors, engaging images, and the fact that it has each number written out and represented by the number (1,2, 3, etc.). As your child gets older, you may find (like I did) that they can count, but can’t visually recognize a number. Curious Toddler Learning NUMBERS 1 2 3 Counting with Animals helps give them that recognition while they count animals in a fun rhyme.
For more counting practice, have your child trace the numbers and count the animals on each page.
More Counting Practice
The best toy I’ve found for practicing counting at this age is this cookie jar. It has each number from 0-10, printed on the back of the cookie, with that number of chocolate chips on the cookie. If your child loves cookies as much as mine do, it’ll be a hit.
Related: The Best Books for 2-Year-Olds
Let’s Learn Our Shapes
Another key skill that kids can learn at this age is identifying shapes. These books all teach shapes in and fun and educational way.
This is a Book of Shapes by Kenneth Kraegel
This is a quirky book about shapes that your 2-year-old will want to read again and again. If you’re looking for something a little out of the ordinary, This is a Book of Shapes will have your child laughing while solidifying his knowledge of shapes.
For more practice, point to the different types of shapes on each page and have your child identify them.
Tangled: A Story About Shapes by Anne Miranda
This covers 16 different shapes that all get tangled in a jungle gym. Each shape comes along and somehow gets added to the mess until they’re finally rescued and order is restored. Tangled: A Story About Shapes is another fun book that will help your child learn to identify different geometric shapes.
For more practice, have your child trace each shape and repeat the name. You can also use a shapes cube to have your child act out the book while you read.
My First SHAPES Padded Board Book by Peter Pauper Press
This is a basic shapes book for toddlers. If that’s what you’re looking for this is the best one I’ve found. Each page identifies a different shape and includes items of that shape. For example, the page for the square includes chocolate, a cracker, blocks, and a frame. My First SHAPES Padded Board Book is a bright book that will help your child identify everyday shapes.
For more practice, have your child find other items around the house that are in the same shapes as those in the book.
More Practice With Shapes
For more practice with shapes, have your child practice with this shapes puzzle.
Let’s Learn the Alphabet
Giving your child a basic background of their letters at this age will be the foundation for learning to read later on. These books will help them learn the alphabet. You can build on the sounds of letters when they get older.
Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! by Dr. Seuss
This ABC book is a classic that may have you initially wondering why. Will made-up animals, big and small letters, and nonsensical rhymes teach your 2-year-old the alphabet? But a year from now, you’ll find yourself and your toddler chanting these rhymes as you review each letter. There’s just something about Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! that sticks with you.
For more practice, grab some letters and have your child pick out the letter to go with each rhyme.
A is for Apple by Tiger Tales
The great thing about this alphabet book is that it includes tracks for toddlers to trace each letter. Even though your 2-year-old may be far from ready to write, this kinesthetic activity helps them learn and recognize each letter more quickly. A is for Apple also has flaps to help your child interact even more with the book.
For more practice, have your child think of other words that begin with each letter.
Chick-A Chick-A Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
This fun book puts a twist on your typical alphabet book. Follow each letter as they climb up the coconut tree. Chick-A Chick-A Boom Boom has a rhyme that is contagious and will quickly have your 2-year-old (and you) chanting it, gaining familiarity with the letters of the alphabet.
For more practice, show your child this illustrated read-aloud to help them recognize the letters as they read.
More Practice with the Alphabet
See How to Teach the Alphabet on my teaching site for more tips on teaching the alphabet. Also, practice the alphabet song often so your child learns the names of each letter.
Let’s Learn Colors
2 is the perfect time to learn colors. Have you ever tried to describe something to your 2-year-old only to realize he didn’t know any of the descriptors you were using? Teaching your child his colors is a great place to start expanding that descriptive knowledge. These books all emphasize colors.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.
This classic children’s book is always a hit for one reason or another. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is simple and I often find myself wondering why my kids love it as much as they do. But the fact is they do love it. Each animal is a different color and I love that the color is a part of the story. My sons have both loved the addition of an animal sound for each animal.
For more practice, have your child identify the colors at the end before you read them.
The Crayon’s Book of Colors by Drew Daywalt
This book about crayons has each crayon drawing some fun, relevant, and quirky drawings in the color of their crayon. All of which will help your child think about the color of things around them.
For more practice, grab a coloring book and talk to your child about what color they think they should color the item in the picture. Then let them color away of course.
Curious Toddler A Colorful Book of Colors by Kropka Publishing
If you’re looking for a book that will teach your child his colors, this is a brightly colored and clear book. Each page includes a color and many items that are that specific color. Curious Toddler A Colorful Book of Colors has each item identified by the color and the name of the item–“yellow flower, yellow bee,” etc.
For more practice, have your child find another item in the room that is the specific color on the page.
More Practice with Colors
The great thing about colors is that they’re all around us. I used to point to parked cars when I’d take walks with my son and tell him (then later ask) what colors they were.
I also love this Farmer’s Market sorting set for helping identify and sort colors.
Let’s Learn Our Body Parts
At this age, your child should have a basic knowledge of their body. They need to know what their toes, eyes, and mouth are. Use these books to help teach body parts.
Where is Baby’s Belly Button? by Karen Katz
This is another unimpressive book that my kids love. My younger son will still ask for it almost daily (even though most of the flaps are ripped off). Where is Baby’s Belly Button? covers a few basic body parts that are great for babies to learn. At 2, your child will probably know most of these, but they have fun lifting the flaps and finding the body part.
For more practice, have your child point to the body part on himself and on you while you read. For hands and toes have them count their fingers and toes.
Hello World! My Body by Jill McDonald
This book takes body parts a little further and talks about the purpose of each part. Eyes help you see everything that’s around you. It also asks questions, like “What color are your eyes?” Hello World! My Body is great for expanding on what your toddler already knows about body parts and applying their purpose.
For more practice, help your child come up with some additional questions to ask and consider.
Curious Toddler My First Word Book About Body Parts by Kropka Publishing
This book identifies every body part you could want your child to know. It also includes the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” to help remind your child of each body part and its location.
For more practice, play “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” for your child and have her follow along, pointing out each body part.
More Practice with Body Parts
Play a game with your child where you call out a body part and they have to point to that body part as fast as they can. If they can’t find it, you get to tickle them.
Let’s Learn About Animals
Identifying animals and learning animal sounds seems to be something 2-year-olds are naturally inclined to do. My boys both loved imitating sounds at 2 and farm animals make a lot of unique sounds. These books are perfect for teaching farm animals and their sounds.
Night Night Farm by Roger Priddy
This book goes through each area of the farm as it closes down for bed. Then says “night night” to each animal. Along with the sound each makes–“Night night cat. Meow meow.” My son, at 2, loves imitating animal sounds, so he loves copying the sounds as we read. This also includes glow-in-the-dark stars in the sky on the last page (for a bonus).
For more practice, have your child repeat night night to each animal along with the sound they make.
Poke-a-Dot: Old McDonald’s Farm by Melissa and Doug
This book says it’s for 3+, but both of my kids loved these at 18+, so I think it’s the perfect recommendation for 2-year-olds. There so much going on in this Poke-a-Dot: Old McDonald’s Farm book. It has dots for your child to poke as they count, farm animals and their sounds, and is set to the Old MacDonald’s Farm song (be prepared to sing). So they learn the names of farm animals, their sounds, and counting.
For more practice, have your child count the animals as they poke the dots.
Spot Goes to The Farm by Eric Hill
There’s no Spot book as good as the original, but this one comes in second. Spot visits the farm with his dad to find some baby animals. Follow along as Spot visits a horse, cow, pig, and other animals. Spot Goes to The Farm also teaches the names of baby animals (fowl, calf, etc.) while Spot is looking for them.
For more practice, have your child repeat the animal sounds. Or show the video and ask them to name the animals.
More Practice with Animals
Pick up these animal magnetics to expand on your child’s animal knowledge. Put each animal up on the board (or refrigerator) and have your child identify it. Ask what sound it makes or come up with a sound for it. Don’t forget to let your child play independently with the magnets too.
Don’t forget that learning is fun, so have fun reading these educational books for 2-year-olds with your child and teaching them these new skills. If they resist you, then back off and let them learn on their own or when they’re ready.
Want to instill a love of reading in your kids? Sign up for my free email course on raising readers and get started today.
References
Dewar, G. (2023). The social and cognitive benefits of play: Effects on the learning brain. PARENTING SCIENCE. https://parentingscience.com/benefits-of-play/
Sriram, R. (2020). Why Ages 2-7 Matter So Much for Brain Development. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-ages-2-7-matter-so-much-brain-development/
