Author Emilie Buchwald once said: “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” But you don’t have to wait until little ones can understand the words on the page to start bonding with them over books. In fact, publisher Penguin says the best age to start reading to your baby is from three to six months, or once they are able to focus on items such as a toy.
Beyond fostering an early love of reading, the developmental benefits are well documented, from enhancing language to developing fine motor skills as they turn the pages independently.
The tactile experience of holding and turning pages, the visual appeal of pictures, and the stimulation of hearing a voice reading contribute to sensory development.
However, finding a book that keeps both your attention and theirs can be tough. Young babies often love board books with clear images and anything that’s noisy, whereas toddlers squeal with delight at pop-up designs or lift-the-flap tales.
To help you find some great options for baby’s first bookshelf, we’ve rounded up our pick of the best baby books.
How we tested
With the help of our 17-month-old tester, we’ve reviewed a variety of baby books, reading the words on the pages, lifting the flaps, pressing the buttons, and watching the pop-up elements come to life. We were looking to see which books captivated our little bookworm the most, and which titles saw our mini tester returning for more, time and time again.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Rebecca Moore is a writer who specialises in the parenting sector. She has since written about the best parenting products on the market, such as pram mittens, musical toys, baby carriers and more. In each of her reviews, Rebecca will only recommend the products and titles she believes are worth your time and money.
The best baby books for 2025 are:
- Best overall – That’s not my… Zoo, written by Fiona Watt, illustrated by Rachel Wells, published by Usborne: £6, Amazon.co.uk
- Best budget buy – That's not my bus… written by Fiona Watt, illustrated by Rachel Wells, published by Usborne: £4.99, Waterstones.com
- Best sound book – Who's the Loudest on the Farm? written by Sam Taplin, illustrated by Craig Shuttlewood, published by Usborne: £6.50, Amazon.co.uk
- Best set – Spot: A big box of little books box set by Eric Hill, published by Penguin: £8.99, Books2door.com
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‘That’s not My… Zoo’, written by Fiona Watt, illustrated by Rachel Wells, published by Usborne
Best: Overall
Age range: 0-2 years
Pages: 10
Why we love it
- Large sensory patches
- Fun sound page
Take note
- Larger size isn’t as easy to carry/hold
Just when we thought Usborne’s That’s Not My series couldn’t get any better, a new zoo-themed sound-book edition joins the library.
Our mini tester is a devoted fan of the touch-and-feel interactive books, but this larger format and sound version had our little bookworm bopping along when we hit the final page. His dance moves demonstrated his appreciation for the noisy zoo tune, which is surprisingly jolly (but can be turned off, thanks to a switch on the back).
The touchy-feely elements offered a good dose of sensory fun, while the playful illustrations ensured this book was returned to time and time again. It’s certainly become a firm favourite.
Buy now £6.00, Amazon.co.uk
‘That's not my bus…’ written by Fiona Watt, illustrated by Rachel Wells, published by Usborne
Best: Budget buy
Age range: 0-3 years
Pages: 8
Why we love it
- Comes with Velcro strap
- Compact size makes it easy to transport and hold
Take note
- Only eight pages
This ‘buggy book’ edition of That's Not My Bus... has saved us on countless occasions when baby boredom strikes. Using the book’s Velcro strap, we’ve attached this title to highchairs, pushchairs and car seats, and it has proven to be a great distraction for our young tester. The compact size makes it easier for babies to turn the pages, and there are touchy-feely patches on each one, from buses with shiny doors to rough radiators and headlights that sparkle.
Buy now £4.99, Waterstones.com
‘Who's the Loudest on the Farm?’ written by Sam Taplin, illustrated by Craig Shuttlewood, published by Usborne
Best: Sound book
Age range: 0-2 years
Pages: 10
Why we love it
- Easy-to-press buttons
- Pop-up feature
Take note
- Slightly heavier than others
With five boldly illustrated creatures in total, this book is great for helping kids identify farm animals and their accompanying noises – our mini tester loved finding the sound button on each page. In fact, this book is one for which our little tester often reached, skipping straight to the final page, which has a spectacular pop-up surprise in the shape of a cockerel.
Buy now £6.50, Amazon.co.uk
‘Waves and Wiggles’ illustrated by Ekaterina Trukhan, published by Ladybird
Best: Counter play book
Age range: 0-5 years
Pages: 10
Why we love it
- Helps kids become familiar with letter shapes
- Gorgeous illustrations
Take note
- Quite heavy
Move aside, baby tester – we couldn’t wait to get our hands on this board book, complete with its pleasingly bright illustrations by Ekaterina Trukhan. A moving-counter play book, it’s designed to help little ones get familiar with letter shapes, as they slide the counters along tracks. It’s part of Ladybird’s Learn & Play series, and it’s super smart, with plenty of appeal. We enjoyed reading the rhyming text while our mini tester loved using his finger to move the counters, which feature fingerholes, to help keep little hands steady, boosting their motor skills.
Buy now £7.35, Whsmith.co.uk
‘Baby Touch: Night-Night’ published by Ladybird
Best: Bedtime book
Age range: 0-2 years
Pages: 12
Why we love it
- Clever cut-out pattern
Take note
- Quite big for small hands
The Baby Touch series is loveable for many reasons – from the touch-and-feel patches to the peep-through pages, there’s a lot for baby to explore, and it was a top contender for our young reader.
Night-Night is our favourite in the collection, as it’s a beautiful way to help baby gently wind down to sleep, saying goodnight to objects and animals along the way. The colours and illustrations are gentle, while the textured patches are subtle (bar the final page), making discoveries more challenging, compared with some other touchy-feely books. Our mini tester loved navigating his way through the pages to find the sensory patches, and exploring the creatively cut-out star design, which gets smaller with every page.
Buy now £7.99, Blackwells.co.uk
‘Uh-Oh, Niko: The Beach’ by Chris Chatterton, published by Ladybird
Best: Interactive book
Age range: 2-5 years
Pages: 12
Why we love it
- Interactive flaps and sliders
Take note
- Best appreciated by toddlers rather than younger babies
If you’ve not met Niko before, this adorable little bear is the creation of bestselling Ten Minutes to Bed illustrator Chris Chatterton. We just love the bright and playful illustrations that pop on each page, and although grasping the story of Niko’s chaotic day at the beach is beyond our baby tester, he loved lifting the flaps and pulling the sliders on this book, while we enjoyed reading aloud the fun-filled rhyming text and discovering how the sliders changed the picture.
Buy now £7.75, Amazon.co.uk
Fabric book by Infantino
Best: For young babies
Age range: Six months plus
Pages: 6
Why we love it
- Attachment ring
- Stimulates senses
Take note
- No story to follow
Before your little ones show interest in board books, fabric options are great for young babies. We love this miniature option, which is an explosion of colour and discoveries. You can expect all the best features from a fabric book – think crinkly paper, a squeaker, sensory tabs, and a textured teether ring – but there’s also a handy plastic ring that attaches to a pushchair, car seat or highchair, which is a great way to keep baby engaged for longer. While fabric books don’t typically interest youngsters for many months of their life, our 17-month-old still reaches for this one.
Buy now £7.00, Vertbaudet.co.uk
‘Where's Spot?’ by Eric Hill, published by Puffin
Best: For nostalgia
Age range: 2-5 years
Pages: 24
Why we love it
- Durable
Take note
- Not as colourful as some other options
First published in 1980, this is the original lift-the-flap title. If you remember this book from your own childhood, it will provide all the nostalgia feels but it doesn’t feel archaic – it certainly gained the interest of our baby bookworm. This hilarious read follows Sally as she searches for Spot the puppy – looking in cupboards, under rugs and in boxes along the way. The illustrations truly pop against the white background, and we found the ‘flaps’ hardwearing when faced with overzealous hands, plus the book itself is the perfect size for little ones.
Buy now £7.00, Jojomamanbebe.co.uk
‘Baby's Black and White Books: Farm’ written by Mary Cartwright, illustrated by Leeza Hernandez, published by Usborne
Best: Visually stimulating book
Age range: 0-2 years
Pages: 10
Why we love it
- Peep holes
- Contrast colours
Take note
- Limited age range
Newborn babies are attracted to contrasting colours, making this book a fabulous early read. Every page has been thoughtfully designed to stimulate developing minds, with strikingly bold illustrations of typical farmyard friends, along with buzzing bees and a friendly scarecrow. Our mini tester loved discovering the inviting peep holes featuring coloured objects, and we found this book to be a great size and weight for young readers.
Buy now £5.99, Usborne.com
The Puppet Company nursery rhymes finger puppet set
Best: For creative play
Age range: 12 months plus
Pages: 18
Why we love it
- Great gift
- Quality puppets
Take note
- More expensive than other options
- Basic illustrations
If you want to take story-time to the next level, introducing a finger puppet – or six, in this case – adds huge amounts of fun, as it can help the characters from the book come to life. In this set, the puppets correspond to nursery rhyme characters featured in the accompanying book. There’s a spider for ‘Incy Wincy’, a star for ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’ and a mouse for ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’.
We had as much fun as our baby bringing the magic to these traditional nursery rhymes, and our mini tester squealed with delight as he bopped to the recognisable tunes. The puppets are incredibly well made, and, although the book itself is rather basic, it’s all about the interactive experience with this gorgeous set.
Buy now £29.99, Amazon.co.uk
‘Fish & Friends’ bath book by Wee Gallery
Best: For bathtime
Age range: 0-3 years
Pages: 8
Why we love it
- Colour-changing pages
- Great gift
Take note
- No storyline
Wee Gallery’s award-winning bath books are fabulous additions to bathtime. Squishy, durable and lightweight (not to mention fish shaped), this book sees black-and-white under-the-sea creatures transforms into colourful masterpieces once water hits the pages. The colour-changing process fascinated our mini tester, and he loved using his finger to add drops of water at a time. While there isn’t so much of a storyline with this book, the gorgeous illustrations make up for that.
Buy now £10.99, Eleandme.com
‘Let's Dig! A Book of First Words’ illustrated by Matt Hunt, published by Ladybird
Best: For toddlers
Age range: 2-5 years
Pages: 12
Why we love it
- Clever pop-ups
Take note
- Easily damaged
Encourage first words while spotting the digger, tractor and roller all hard at work. Our baby was fascinated to see the vehicles spring out from the page, but we did have to supervise reading time, as he had a tendency to be heavy handed with the pop-up parts, causing some tears along the way.
We loved the playful and brightly coloured illustrations, and the smaller format is perfect for little hands, but may be best appreciated when our mini tester is a little older.
Buy now £6.43, Foyles.co.uk
‘Ms Rachel: 100 First Words’ published by Ladybird
Best: First words book
Age range: 1-2 years
Pages: 30
Why we love it
- Includes language tips
- 100 words to learn
Take note
- No storyline
If you’re not familiar with the Youtube sensation, Ms Rachel is an American school teacher, singer and educator adored by babies. It’s safe to say Ms Rachel is our baby’s favourite teacher and his eyes lit up when he clocked this book on the shelf.
Unlike a lot of ‘first words’ books, this title features cut-out images of actual objects, such as a bottle, apple and bath, which resonated with our tester. The images and background colours are bright, and Ms Rachel’s friendly face appears on every page – our little tester loved pointing her out. While there’s no storyline, you won’t feel shortchanged, as there are 100 words for little ones to learn, plus some handy language development tips on the final page.
Buy now £5.99, Scholastic.co.uk
Spot: A big box of little books box set by Eric Hill, published by Penguin
Best: Set
Age range: 0-3 years
Pages: 10 per book (nine books included)
Why we love it
- The set doubles as a puzzle
- Mini book size
Take note
- No storyline
- Limited appeal
Presented in a sturdy box with magnetic closure, this set includes nine mini board books. Perfect for tiny hands, each book is full of familiar things, covering topics such as food, farms, bedtime and the beach.
The books fitted perfectly in the palm of our little tester’s hand, and he loved turning the robust pages. Brightly coloured and simply designed with an illustration on the right and the word or text on the left, these books are great for picking up first words, while honing in on those fine motor skills as baby turns the pages independently.
Buy now £8.99, Books2door.com
‘Sing-along Nursery Rhymes’ by Sam Taplin, illustrated by Laura Giorgi, published by Usborne
Best: For music-lovers
Age range: 1-3 years
Pages: 10
Why we love it
- Large buttons to press
- Good sound quality
- On/off switch
Take note
- Heavy
Our 17-month-old tester has really started engaging with nursery rhymes recently, making this book an instant hit. The illustrations are playful and brightly coloured to attract little eyes, but this book is all about the sound, and we were impressed with the quality, while our mini tester loved finding the large press buttons. There are five rhymes to enjoy, from ‘Row, row, row your boat’ to ‘Old MacDonald’, but there’s also an all-important off switch.
Buy now £12.99, Waterstones.com
The verdict: Baby books
There are hundreds of brilliant books out there for babies and toddlers, and each week little ones’ interests change and develop, so favourites may change from week to week and month to month. However, one book series that has gained consistent attention from our mini tester is the ‘That’s not my…’ collection. Thanks to the touchy-feely patches, colourful illustrations, fun storyline, and added sound feature That’s not my… Zoo came out on top during testing. If you want to keep reading sound-free, we also highly recommend Eric Hill’s classic lift-the-flap book Where’s Spot.
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