My Child's Top 15 Favorite Books

A well rounded bookshelf should contain both Christian and secular books. But there are plenty of places to read reviews for secular picture books, so why would we choose to post about them at Christian Children's Book Review? Well, we thought it might be fun - and helpful - for you to know what books our kids love the best. So, without further ado, here are my 20 month old daughter's all-time favorite books:

Lift & Look Colors by Soft Play. My daughter has adored this book since she was two months old. It's a foam, and loaded with bright colors and lots of animals. Every other page also has two foam puzzle pieces that my daughter loves taking out and trying to put back in. Just be sure that children who still love to put things in their mouth are supervised with this book, as they could chew off the foam.

Little One, God Made You by Amy Warren Hilliker. My daughter chooses to have me read this book at least three times every day. She smiles at the babies and toddlers pictured in it, and I love the great message. Click here to see my full review of this title.

Busy Kitties by John Schindel. This little board book gets read several times each day, too. It contains a simple ryhme and lots of photos of real-life kitties.

Little One's Bible Verses by Stephen Elkins. My daughter has recently take a strong shine to this book, which is fabulous, since each page contains one Bible verse. Click here to read my full review of this title.

First Songs with illustrations by Jane Swift. Of all the nursery ryhme books we have, this is the one my daughter loves best. The illustrations are bright and colorful, and the book includes favorite Mother Goose rhymes (like "Jack and Jill" and "Hickory Dickory Dock"), as well as traditional childhood songs like "Yankee Doodle" and "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush." (It doesn't matter if you don't know the music to these songs; just read the rhymes!)

Baby Says Peek A Boo by Dorling Kindersley. When my daughter was too young to lift the flaps on more delicate books, she delighted in this book with strong, nearly full-page flaps. Plus the book has great photos of babies and a shatter-proof mirror for your child to see herself in, too.

Touch and Feel Pets, Baby Animals, and Farm Animals by DK Publishing. No baby or toddler should be without these three books. Each page has photographs of real animals, plus cut outs with fabrics simulating a sheep's coat, an elephant's ear, etc.

Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt. This is the original "touch and feel" book, and it's great for the many stages of babyhood. At first, my daughter only enjoyed hearing me read it, then she liked looking at herself in the included shatterproof mirror, then she learned to "play peek a boo with Paul," touch "daddy's scratch face" (made of sandpaper), and put her finger through "mummy's ring" (a hole in the book).

What Do You Do? by Mandy Stanley. Each pages features a colorful drawing of an animal, with text explaining what the animal does. (Example: "Hen hen, what do you do? I lay eggs!") As you read, make appropriate animal noises, and you'll have a big hit.

Windows to Color by Julie Aigner-Clark. I am not a big fan of Baby Einstein products; I think, generally, they are only so-so in quality. However, this book is great. It has cut-out shapes (something my daughter loves), and photographs of animals, a fire truck, lemons, etc., to help teach color. My favorite part is that each color is also represented by a piece of artwork (including works by van Gogh, Chagall, Degas, and O'Keeffe).

Whose Nose and Toes? by John Butler. One page features the nose and toes of a baby animal, while the following page tells which animal they belong to. This book is of endless amusement to my tot.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr. This classic book teaches animal names and colors. I like to add appropriate animal noises, too; if it were up to my daughter, I'd read this to her all day long!

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? by Dr. Seuss. This may be the longest single book my daughter can sit through...and she loves every moment. This volume is all about fun rhymes and great sounds.

Moo, Ba, La La La by Sandra Boynton. From her infancy, my daughter has loved this simple book with cartoon-like illustrations of animals and rhyming text about the sounds they make.