Infancy lasts about a year and takes up a decade of memory. It is the stretch when a person cannot yet hold up their own head, and everything — a fist, a ceiling fan, the sound of a familiar voice in the next room — arrives brand new. Children’s books have always been drawn to that beginning, and not only the human version of it. Half this shelf belongs to ducklings crossing a road, owlets waiting on a branch, a puppy who is slower than his four siblings, and a kitten meeting her first full moon. Babies of every species do roughly the same three things: they get hungry, they get lost, and they get found.
Drawing from Bookroo’s collection of 464 books about infancy, our editors chose twelve that work for the two audiences this subject always has — the baby in the room, who wants faces, flaps, and a voice going up and down, and the older child trying to make sense of a new arrival. Start with the shortlist, then browse board books built for hands that still put everything in the mouth, and picture books for the read-aloud years.
Babies being fed, dressed, carried, rocked, and paraded around — the whole job, in rhyme.
Three owl babies wake in the night to find the branch beside them empty.
Babies born in tents, towns, and hospitals, all of them equipped with the same twenty digits.
A hatchling comes out of the egg while his mother is away, and goes looking for her.
Baby’s eyes, mouth, hands, feet, and belly button, each hiding under a flap.
A kitten sees her first full moon, decides it is a bowl of milk, and sets out to get it.
Three babies, three adults who adore them, and three chases that end in kissing.
Eight ducklings hatch in the Charles River and have to be marched through downtown Boston.
A fussing newborn is told she was a bunny, a bear cub, a bird, and a fawn before this.
Five puppies dig under the fence; the slowest one keeps arriving after the rice pudding is gone.
The Bunny family finds a baby wolf on the doorstep and adopts him. Dot is not convinced.
What an elephant calf has to learn in her first years, and how the herd teaches her.
Faces, flaps, kisses, fingers and toes, and sturdy little stories about newborn animals — the first books to hand a baby, ages 0–3.
Kitten resists naptime, exploring a world of opposites.
Explore the magical transformations of baby animals into their adult forms.
Say goodnight to animals with soothing sounds in this bedtime board book.
Baby animals explore their world, guided by their mothers, discovering new friends along the way.
Discover the enchanting world of tiny creatures and their playful bonds with nature.
Discover the many kinds of babies and the love that embraces them all.
Discover the secret nighttime world of raccoons in this playful exploration.
A baby meets animals and finds the most precious one: itself.
Three chicks defy farm expectations, proving they're more than just cute.
Experience the earth's wonders as a newborn's arrival is celebrated worldwide.
As darkness falls, little ones prepare for a cozy, sleepy embrace under the covers.
Discover the diverse world of babies through vibrant photos and cultural glimpses.
Read-alouds about hatching, wobbling, being carried home, and living with a brand-new baby in the house — ages 3–8.
A group of kittens go on an adventure with various animals they meet along the way.
A family raises chickens from chicks.
Are they cuter than a piglet in a sweater? Discover the answer.
A kitten and a bird become unlikely friends and learn to fly together.
A dinosaur must find his place in a family of ducks. Can he belong without wings?
A boy tries to convince his parents to get him a shark for his birthday.
A community unites to find a home for a lost kitten, revealing true compassion.
Discover 100 dogs in a lively, rhyming adventure full of surprises.
A new girl unites a community to save sea turtles.
Discover the lively world of baby animals in this timeless classic.
A runt piglet finds an unexpected family with a dachshund mom.
A series of animals see each other in a forest.
