Books can be one of the best ways to support your toddler’s development — the right books can help them explore emotions, expand their vocabulary and fall in love with reading from an early age. But with so many books out there, from must-read classics to new authors, it can be a tricky challenge knowing where to start.

At this stage, toddlers love repetition, rhyme, bold illustrations, and books they can get involved in — whether that’s lifting flaps, turning sliders, or roaring like a dinosaur.

Using parent recommendations from the MadeForMums Top Testers Club, we've rounded up the best books for 2-year-olds. In our guide, you'll find a mix of classic stories you probably read as a child, interactive adventures, books about emotions, bedtime stories, and even counting books that support early numeracy.

Best books for 2 year olds at a glance

What kinds of books are best for a 2 year old?

The best books for 2 year olds should really focus on engaging your child's senses, whether it's through tactile books with moving parts or interactive stories that encourage your 2 year old to take part. At this age, toddlers are exploring the world through touch, sight, and sound, so books need to match that developmental stage.

Board books: At this age, toddlers love to flip pages and get hands-on with books. Board books are a great option as they tend to be durable and toddler-proof and have sturdy parts that can withstand a toddler's tough grip. Some books, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, are available as a paperback or board book — we'd recommend investing in the board book if your 2 year old doesn't have gentle hands!

Interactive Features: Look out for books that have flaps to lift, tabs to pull and push, surfaces to feel, or sound buttons. These features will keep your 2 year old's hands and minds engaged, encourage their curiosity and improve their fine motor skills.

Rhyming and Repetition: Repetition and rhythm help toddlers anticipate what’s coming next and help to build their vocabulary. As you revisit the same stories with your 2 year old, they'll start remembering the words and increasingly join in.

Simple, Relatable Stories: Books that include things that your toddler will recognise, or that echo their world, like bedtime, bath time, animals or even feelings, can help them to make connections and learn about routines and emotions.

Bright, Bold Illustrations: Eye-catching images and colourful visuals will help to hold your toddler's attention span and make them more captivated by the story. Try to look for books with clear pictures and minimal background clutter.

Books That Encourage Participation: Books that ask questions or prompt 2 year olds to point, make sounds, or guess what comes next will help to build language skills and make story time more interactive and fun.

Best books for 2 year olds to read in 2025

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, £7.99

Best classic book for 2 year olds

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar product shot

For over 50 years, the adventures of a very hungry caterpillar that eats a lot of food before becoming a butterfly have been delighting babies and toddlers.

It's one of the greatest classic kids' books of all time for a reason — our parent testers told us that their children are fascinated by the book. Parent tester Rebecca said, "all my kids just loved The Very Hungry Caterpillar at age 2, something about it just captivates them! I love hearing them recite the pages with all the different food" and parent tester Elli told us, "my son loves this book as he likes counting and naming the food."

Children are captivated not only by the bright and imaginative images in the book, but also by the simple text and educational themes — all of which make it a must-have for any child's bookshelf. As parent tester Bettyna said, "The book's engaging illustrations and fun counting concept make it perfect for early learning."

My 2 year old loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar because she loves counting and saying the different foods and choosing her favourite. The finger holes are super effective (the book is an oldy but a goody clearly!)
Parent tester Eden

Available from: Amazon, The Works, Waterstones, Natural Baby Shower

2. Who's in Your Book? series by Tom Fletcher, £7.99

Best interactive books for 2 year olds

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Who's in Your Book Series by Tom Fletcher product shots

This fantastic book series featuring titles such as There's a Monster in Your Book and There's a Bear in Your Book is a firm favourite amongst parents and their kids thanks to its interactive nature and engrossing storytelling. Parent tester Sami said, "My daughter loves how interactive it is and doing all the actions," and tester Ellie told us, "My little boy loves these books as he loves trying to join in!"

Each book follows a different character that's in the book which your child has to interact with. Each edition promises an enchanting and interactive adventure that sees storytelling come to life.

I'd recommend the Tom Fletcher 'There's a.... In your book' series. My little one loves doing all the actions to help the story along!
Parent tester Amy

Available from: Amazon, Waterstones

3. Tales from Acorn Wood series by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, £7.99

Best lift-the-flap books for 2 year olds

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Tales from Acorn Wood product shot

With so many books to choose from by this brilliant author, we found it tough to pick the best Julia Donaldson books for 2 year olds. We settled on the Tales From Acorn Wood books as this enchanting series features bold and vivid illustrations and toddler-proof sturdy flaps on each page that will really engage your child. There's also a charming rhyming verse which little ones can easily follow along with.

The books are a huge hit with our community, and parents particularly love how short and sweet the stories are, particularly for 2 year olds. Parent tester Rebecca said "they are lovely rhyming stories with flaps to lift so they are nicely engaging. They aren’t long either so they tend to keep concentration for them well enough" and parent tester Fay told us, "as they are animal themed and have flaps you can lift on each page, they are very interactive and just the right length for a 2 year old."

We love the Acorn Wood series by Julia Donaldson. The rhymes are great for language development, the pictures are beautiful and have lots going on that you can talk about and they have strong flaps — just right for two year olds!
Parent tester Philippa

Available from: Amazon, The Works, Waterstones

4. We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, £7.99

Best repetitive story book for 2 year olds

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We're Going on a Bear Hunt book product shot

Another family-favourite classic book for young children, Michael Rosen's We're Going on a Bear Hunt is engaging and captivating for toddlers thanks to its charming, repetitive verse and vivid watercolour illustrations.

Parent testers told us their children love it thanks to the lyrical repetition. Parent tester Elli said, "My 2-year-old loves this book, I think it's a hit as it is repetitive and catchy", and parent tester Sarah said, "My 2-year-old loves We're Going on a Bear Hunt as it's a simple story with some repetition. She has started to learn the words by listening to us read."

It's also a great book to read along with; it encourages children to act out as you go along, and there are lots of noises to shout out loud, too. A brilliant endorsement came from parent tester Lanna, who said, "My son loves this book; he does all the funny actions, and it's brought him into the world of books."

We love We're Going on a Bear Hunt because my little one can get involved and engage in the story due to the repetitive nature and shouting out the repetitive phrases. It's also brilliant for animal recognition and has sounds of activities that can be exaggerated and made fun such as the ‘swishy swashy’ grass.
Parent tester Caroline

Available from: The Works, Amazon, Waterstones

5. Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, £7.99

Best rhyming book for 2 year olds

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Each Peach Pear Plum product shot

Another timeless classic, Each Peach Pear Plum, is an enchanting picture book with a lyrical, rhyming verse. The book introduces beloved and well-known characters from nursery stories, such as Cinderella, the Three Bears and Tom Thumb and encourages children to find the characters hidden in the picture.

The strong rhyme and rhythm are perfect to read aloud, parent tester GC said her children love this book and thanks to its simple verse, it encourages her older children to read to her youngest child: "the rhymes and the gentle pictures are fab. My elder child loves to read it to my youngest, so it's a nice bonding thing for them."

We are a fan of Each Peach Pear Plum — it's a repetitive rhyming book of simple words to help develop vocabulary, and it's fun trying to spot the characters in the pictures!
Parent tester Natalie

Available from: Waterstones, Amazon

6. DinoFeelings Series by Rachel Bright, £7.99

Best book about emotions for 2 year olds

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2 DinoFeelings books product shots

Featuring a host of different dino characters, including the Worrysaurus, Stomposauru,s and the Chattysaurus, all books in the DinoFeelings series by Rachel Bright will really help your children learn how to cope with different emotions such as frustration and worry, as well as the importance of listening, resilience and the power of kindness.

Each of these picture books has an important message that's presented alongside vivid and engaging illustrations that are sure to captivate and comfort 2 year olds as they navigate new emotions and deal with everyday concerns.

I think the Rachel Bright DinoFeelings books are really great especially as kids start feeling new emotions at this age and need to start putting a name to it — plus the messages in the books are just as good for kids as they are for adults!
Parent tester Hattie

Available from: Amazon, Waterstones

7. Ten Minutes to Bed series by Rhiannon Fielding, £7.99

Best bedtime book for 2 year olds

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Ten Minutes to Bed product shots

Help your toddler count down to bed with this magical bedtime book series. Whether you're counting down to bed with the little dragon, dinosaur, fairy or wolf, these enchanting books are perfect for helping 2 year olds snuggle down to sleep and wind down for the night.

Each book will take your toddler on a magical adventure as they travel through the Land of Nod to help their little character say goodnight. There are sturdy, durable flaps and an enchanting story that will help your little one nod off for the night.

Our parent testers really rated them for how they helped their children settle at bedtime. Sarah told us the books are "easy to read with really lovely illustrations that get them ready for bed." Parent tester Hannah agreed: "It combines flaps, fun characters and leads to settling down for bedtime really well!"

The Ten Minutes to Bed books are brilliant at using a count down for bedtime and have a range of characters that link across books. They are also great for different ages as some of the books are simpler with flaps and others are longer. The rhyming pattern also means children pick up the wording and learn phrases to say themselves.
Parent tester Andria

Available from: The Works, Waterstones, Amazon

8. Planes Planes Planes! (50 to Follow series) by Donna David, £7.99

Best counting book for 2 year olds

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Planes Planes Planes! product shot

Perfect for vehicle-obsessed toddlers, or a great way to introduce spotting and counting fun, this preschool book sees your 2 year old follow 50 colourful planes as they race through the air. There are different planes (or cars, trains or trucks, depending on what book you choose) on each page and a really exciting fold-out race at the end.

Specifically designed and developed to encourage pre-reading skills, expand vocabulary and language — this really is a fun and educational book. Each page is packed full of vivid pictures, fun read-aloud text and we know any plane or transport-obsessed toddlers will love reading and counting along.

Plus, parents and carers can head to the back of the book to find reading tips — an extra touch that we love.

These are hard back books which contain lots of elements for growth. They encourage page turning, promote conversation around the images and counting with each vehicle numbered. At the end there is an opening flap that shows all the vehicles for you to choose a favourite and further discus. Finally there is a search and find element and tips for parents and careers.
Parent tester Rebecca

Available from: Waterstones, Amazon

9. Ladybird Little World series, £6.99

Best book with moving parts for 2-year-olds

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2 Ladybird Little World books product shots

Curious 2 year olds will love exploring the Little World series — whether they're going On the Train, In The Forest, On Safari, or even Under The Sea, these interactive books are engaging and sure to captivate your toddler.

Each edition includes a gentle narrative, bright artwork and plenty of novelty push, pull and slide mechanisms on every spread so your toddler can join in on the adventure.

There are 12 titles to choose from, so you can collect them all or find one that will really interest your little reader. Whether they're visiting familiar places like a shopping centre or farm, or exploring faraway places like a jungle or even the moon, this interactive series is perfect for curious toddlers.

My little girl is almost 2 and she loves the Ladybird Little World push, pull and slide books. Her favourite one of these is 'On the Train'. They're great for two year olds as there's lots of lovely bright illustrations. The familiar settings and scenarios grab their interest and with interactive pages there's lots to concentrate on!
Parent tester Joy

Available from: Amazon, Waterstones

10. The Dinosaur That Pooped... series by Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter, from £6.99

Best funny books for 2 year olds

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The DInosaur that Pooped series featuring 2 product shots

This brilliantly funny series combines two things that a lot of 2 year olds love: dinosaurs and poop. Each book sees Dino and Danny head off on pooptastic adventures, whether the dinosaur has pooped a planet, a princess or even a rock show!

They all feature laugh-out-loud funny rhymes and expect a lot of poop! Parents told us their toddlers loved reading and laughing along, and the adults enjoyed reading along too. Parent tester Brook said, "My little boy LOVED this series when he was 2 and still does now! The books are funny, keep the little ones engaged and are also enjoyable for the adults."

Parent tester Louise agreed: "my poo-obsessed boy loves this series Especially The Dinosaur that Pooped a Princess. He loves that the dinosaur poops out pigs. I find them enjoyable to read too!"

There are seasonal editions too, such as Easter, Halloween and Christmas, so you and your 2 year old can laugh and read along throughout the year.

My 2 year old absolutely loves all ‘The Dinosaur That Pooped’ books. They help develop a sense of rhyme and she already joins in with reading it, along with talking about the great illustrations also in the books!
Parent tester Charlotte

Available from: Amazon, Waterstones

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Authors

Emily Longman WallDigital Content Producer

Emily is the Digital Content Producer at MadeForMums and creates editorial and video content across the brand. She also edits the weekly editorial newsletter, oversees our reviews process and loves creating our craft articles and videos. She specialises predominantly in car seats and pushchairs, and has yet to meet a buggy she couldn’t fold! With a 1st class degree in History, she always researches topics thoroughly to find the best recommendations for parents.

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