25 Of The Best Soft Books For Babies And Toddlers
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Like many a bookish mom, the first baby items I bought for my little one were books. Picture books, board books, classics, contemporary, just about everything. But I forgot to stock my baby’s library with soft books. Thankfully, she received a few as gifts, and now that I see how much she enjoys them, I’ve since bought her more.
As my baby grows, she plays with her soft books in different ways. When she was first beginning to touch and feel the things around her, she loved the crinkly pages. What a surprise! As her hands became more agile and she could actually grasp toys, she loved grabbing and shaking and playing peek-a-boo with them. Once she started teething, they became her teethers. And now that she’s actually enjoying bath time (she hated it at first), she loves splish-splashing with her bath time soft books. I know that once she’s a toddler she’ll enjoy playing with activity soft books, but for now, she’s practicing turning pages and chewing on them (she’s nine months old).
Because I know how much fun these books are for babies, I’ve rounded up 25 of the best soft books for you and your little one(s).
Book Riot (and myself) always strives to make these lists as diverse as possible. I ran into problems finding diverse authors and illustrators to include on this list, mainly because most soft books are produced by a company and have no authors, but also because there’s a lack of classic, diverse picture books being adapted into the soft book format. There’s definitely room for improvement here, but I was glad to find several newer, beautiful soft books by Surya Sajnani, as well as a few others.
Your baby can chew and play with this one while you cry-read the hardback. (Just me?)
In addition to having crinkle pages and a squeaker, the spine is a teether. It’s the only soft book I’ve seen with a teether spine.
Skip Hop has several interactive soft books. Another really cool one by Skip Hop is Skip Hop Vibrant Village Peek & Play Activity Book, which turns into a little house! Rioter Jen Sherman recommended these to me.
In addition to being a soft, interactive book, this one plays music and lights up. VTech toys are some of my baby’s favorites.
Part stuffed animal, part book, this soft book is cuddly and sure to be a favorite.
Another photo album, but this one is completely customizable, and the designer adds the photos for you. The designer has lots of options, and these are truly lovely and would make great keepsakes.
Want to make your own soft book? Noialand has some amazing pattern options. (This LRRH option is my favorite.)
This is so clever—the pages change color when they’re wet! There are multiple animals to choose from.
Does your baby have a favorite soft book?
Cuddle Book
Soft Book Pattern by Noialand
