Why is it important to read to your one-year-old? Partly, it’s because reading to kids at any age is good for them and good for you. As children’s author Hilary Robinson told DaddiLife: “Reading together is an essential part in helping to encourage a love of stories and of later independent reading. It helps to develop comprehension, nurture empathy and language development – children hear words and use them in conversation.”
But - while reading to children of any age is good - reading to one year olds has specific benefits. So in this guide you'll learn about what to consider when buying the best books for one year olds, as well as our reviews for 15 of the very best for you to buy and enjoy together.
Why is reading to your one year important?
According to one study, both the quality and quantity of shared book reading in infancy predicted later childhood vocabulary, reading skills, and name writing ability. The earlier you start, in other words, the better the outcomes for your child.
It’s not just about the act of reading though, it’s also about what you read. Lisa Scott, associate professor in Psychology at the University of Florida, has studied the effects different books have on infants. She concludes that, “to reap the benefits of shared book reading during infancy, we need to be reading our little ones the right books at the right time.” It's similar in principle to what to look for in buying the best gifts for one year olds.
What to consider when buying books for one-year-olds
Lisa’s research found a specific difference between books that label characters and those that don’t. Put simply, in children up to one, it seems that books with colorful characters that are named promote more cognitive activity than those with generic characters. So books featuring a character called Larry the Lion might be better for infant development than books that simply feature a lion.
We don’t know why that might be, but we can take a guess. Calling a lion Larry is just more fun, and might promote more expressiveness in the mother or father on reading duty. Your enjoyment also might be infectious, making the whole session more memorable for your baby (if you have baby books that don’t name characters, that’s fine - just name them yourself!).
Whatever it is, it seems to work. Lisa states: “For infants, finding books that name different characters may lead to higher-quality shared book reading experiences and result in the learning and brain development benefits we find in our studies.”
But it might not be the naming itself that promotes these benefits, but the fact that colourful characters get parents talking, and talking seems to be key. Talking to babies helps their development. Books that encourage parents to talk through pictures or explain simple actions or events might be especially worthwhile for babies around one year of age. Beyond just the talking there's a few other factors to consider:
The 15 best books for one year olds
Editors Review
“Bright, colorful illustrations, sturdy felt flaps and a mirror on the final page make this an excellent choice for your one-year-old as they explore the world around them.”
Join Mr Duck on his journey round the pond, and discover lots of other friendly animals hidden behind bright felt flaps.
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2. First Words
Editors Review
“Bright, obvious illustrations, hidden surprises and simple sentences make understanding easy."
Learning can be fun, and this sturdy board book introduces your infant to 10 common words, like dog, cat, ball and bug. Lifting flaps helps fine tune those developing motor skills too.
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Editors Review
“Babies love searching for adorable Spot, and have done for 40 years! The surprises along the way and eventual pay-off (spoiler alert: you find Spot!) make this a great read.”
A reissue of a children’s classic: lift the flaps and uncover surprises before finally finding where cheeky Spot has been hiding.
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Editors Review
“There’s just so much going on and so many places to visit - it seems like there’s something else to find every time your baby opens the book.”
Join a cast of colourful animal characters as they show you everything that goes on in a town just like yours.
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Editors Review
“There’s a very cute avocado finger puppet attached to the back cover, so you can play out the scenes in the book and even create new ones of your own."
An avocado (because even hipsters have children) goes on an adventure in this quirky rhyming story.
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Editors Review
“Like the Little Avocado's book, it also features a fun finger puppet toy built into the book. This is great for parents who want to tell the story in their own inimitable style, but also great for kids’ coordination and fine motor skills."
Another finger puppet book, but this time set to the worldwide hit song!
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7. Dear Zoo
Editors Review
"This children’s classic will keep your baby guessing till the last page. Great illustrations, thick pages and sturdy flaps."
The Zoo keeps sending the wrong pet - we can’t look after a lion, a monkey and an elephant! Will they get it right this time?
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Editors Review
"It’s the Very Hungry Caterpillar - enough said. (OK, it’s a classic, beautifully illustrated, great layout, and there are holes in the pages that the caterpillar has eaten through!)"
A caterpillar eats his way through a mountain of food before...well, that would be telling.
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Editors Review
"It’s a simple, gentle, peaceful story that ends with Little Nutbrown Hare fast asleep. Perfect bedtime reading for parents and babies."
Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare try to express how much they love each other.
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Editors Review
"Big, bright illustrations help your child follow this delightful little story, taking them on a colourful journey into a new world of adventure."
Welcome to the World follows the adventures of a charming baby elephant as it takes its first steps into the big wide world and discovers all the wonders it has to offer.
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Editors Review
“Babies will love the illustrations, and as they grow they will also start to explore the text, which teaches them about colours, numbers and animals.”
The original Gruffalo books will come a little later in your child’s development, but these tiny fun board books are a great way to introduce characters from the deep dark wood to very young children.
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Editors Review
“These are funny stories about the UK’s favourite bear, full of charm, warmth and adventure. Babies will love the exciting illustrations; older children will start reading the simple text."
Again, this collection of four board books introduces a children’s favourite to a very young audience.
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Editors Review
“Bright illustrations and lots of different textures and surfaces to touch and feel help your child’s sensory development.”
A new and Chirstmassy addition to the ‘That’s Not My...’ series of touchy, feely board books. When will you find your robin?
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Editors Review
“When you turn the pages the stars light up! Babies will love the night sky twinkling before their eyes.”
How do we get Little Bear to fall asleep when the sky is lit up with stars? A short, sweet story with a difference.
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Editors Review
“The illustrations are great, and one year olds will really love pressing the pages and hearing robins singing, a fire crackling and many more."
Winter is a whole lot of fun with this bright, colourful and noisy (in a good way) book.
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How to read to a one year old
The best piece of advice about reading to babies is simply to do it, often. You should do it at all ages, but from six to nine months reading has measurable effects. For example, a study published in the journal Pediatrics found that babies who were read to regularly from six months had a 40% increase in receptive vocabulary at 18 months. Babies who were not read to had only a 16% increase in receptive vocabulary.
Dad stories - reading to one year olds.
There's nothing we love more than seeing dads reading with their one year olds. Here are some of the stories we've loved and been inspired by.
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