Children's

8 Cute and Cuddly Baby Books About Love

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Summer Loomis

Contributor

Summer Loomis has been writing for Book Riot since 2019. She obsessively curates her library holds and somehow still manages to borrow too many books at once. She appreciates a good deadline and likes knowing if 164 other people are waiting for the same title. It's good peer pressure! She doesn't have a podcast but if she did, she hopes it would sound like Buddhability. The world could always use more people creating value with their lives everyday.

Tiny humans obviously deserve the best of everything, including baby books about love. While I’m still undecided about adults, I feel that babies and young humans can be pretty awesome. Hence, the need for as many good books to bring them as possible. There is something very comforting about reading books about little humans with so much potential and love to give. Yeah, I know it’s sappy, but it’s true!

So, if you’re like me, you might also enjoy these books about love that are addressed to and about little humans and the ones who cherish and care for them. When I started writing this list, the first titles to come to mind were B is for Baby by Atinuke and illustrated by Angela Brooksbank, Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer, and Hair Love by Matthew Cherry. If you haven’t read those yet, then obviously you should get to it.

However, there are also a lot of other good choices out there. Of these, only the Sandra Boynton is an older baby book about love. The rest are mostly recent board book publications and a few picture books to offer some options to older readers or for the baby in your life to grow into.

Cover of Me and My Mama

Me and My Mama: Celebrate Black Joy and Family Love by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Ashleigh Corrin

This is a rhyming book that follows little ones doing all kinds of every day activities with their mothers. Of course my favorite is, “Pillows piled to form a nook, we dive deep into a book,” but I also really liked, “Mama’s sleeping like a rock, but when I knock, she’s on the clock.” It is also nice that this book has mother-child pairs that are different across activities, so it is not just illustrated with the pair you see on the cover.

Cover of Ours

Ours by Ruth Forman, Illustrated by Talia Skyles

The illustrations in this are so beautiful and comforting. The simple text follows several little children as they look in the mirror and the reader says “I love mine…She loves hers…He loves his…” and so on. If you like this, you should read Bloom, also written by Ruth Forman and illustrated by the very talented Talia Skyles.

Cover of I Love You Little Pookie

I Love You, Little Pookie by Sandra Boynton

This is one of my personal favorites. There is something so endearing about Sandra Boynton’s books and characters, and they are definitely among my absolute favorites. They are a perfect mix of whimsical and serious. I can’t handle too much sappiness, but these strike a lovely balance in my opinion. If you haven’t heard of her before, you have many, many good books by her to explore. So, I am thrilled to share my love of her work here. I highly recommend that you read this title to your own little “pookies,” or perhaps to your inner child. Couldn’t hurt, could it?

Cover of Like the Moon Loves the Sky

Like the Moon Loves the Sky by Hena Khan, Illustrated by Saffa Khan

This is a lovely rhyming picture book that starts, “Inshallah you are all that is gentle and good…Inshallah you feel safe, like all children should.” The illustrations are vibrant and rich, and the text lovely and compelling. For readers unfamiliar with the expression “inshallah,” there is an author’s note at the beginning to explain. I think this would appeal to many families, regardless of their religious background. If you like this, you might also try Hena Khan’s middle grade novel Amina’s Voice.

Cover of Amor is to love you

Amor Is To Love You by Susie Jaramillo

This one is a testament to love, regardless of how you say it in your language. As someone not familiar with the Canticos characters, I still loved this little book and could see the appeal for many other readers. If you like this, there is also I Love My Mommy/Te Quiero, Mamá and Little Chickies/Los Pollitos to try.

Cover of Good Morning World I Love You So

Good Morning World, I Love You So by Olivia Herrick

I wish I could tell you I woke up every day embodying the grateful vibe of this book, but well, you’d be forgiven for calling bull on that right away. Yup, I’m an adult and I just do not wake up feeling sunny all the time. However, this rhyming book does a nice job of reminding us that we can all feel a little more gratitude for the world around us. I also like the paper collage-like illustrations.

Cover of Tiny T Rex and the Perfect Valentine

Tiny T. Rex and the Perfect Valentine by Jonathan Stutzman, Illustrated by Jay Fleck

I really like Jonathan Stutzman’s other books, so it is no surprise that I also found this one heartwarming. If you like tiny dinosaurs with big hearts, then you should pick this up. If you’re not already a fan, try Stutzman’s other great titles like Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug, Llama Destroys the World and Llama Unleashes the Apacolypse. Nope, not kidding about that last one. You kind of have to read it to understand.

Cover of With Lots of Love

With Lots of Love by Jenny Torres Sanchez, Illustrated by André Ceolin

I will leave you with one book about loving and missing someone, since I think this is such a universal experience for both kids and adults alike. With Lots of Love is a beautiful picture book about a girl, Rocio, who moves away from her abuela to a new home in the United States. She misses so much about her old life in an unnamed Central American country, including of course the grandmother herself.

And if all these baby and picture books about love aren’t enough for you, try Ah, Love: 18 Children’s Books about Love and 10 Sweet Valentine’s Books for Kids to Help Spread the Love This Year from Book Riot’s celebrations of Valentine’s Days past.