31 Days, 31 Lists: 2024 Rhyming Picture Books

I always like to kick off the month of lists with board books. To my mind, they’re the least respected types of books in the whole of children’s literature. Though vital to young growing minds, many is the new parent I’ve met who has told me, “I don’t think I’ll start reading to my kids until they’re a year old or so.” Never mind the evidence that reading to your children at the youngest of ages instills an early understanding that reading equates cuddling, family time, and general happiness. Not to mention the brain development benefits!

But if you’re going to read to babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, why not read them the absolute best of the best of the best books out there? The board book list I’ve produced here is one of the largest I do and for good reason. Loads of board books are released every year. The question is, which ones are worthy of your kids?

Here’s the PDF of this year’s Board Book List, if you’re interested in downloading it in a nice and easy format.

Additionally, in case you need more suggestions, be sure to check out my previous years’ board book lists:

• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016

2024 Board Books for Babies

Adventure Babies by Rosamund Lloyd, ill. Chris Dickason

Let the record show that I am not an easy mark. You can’t just slap a bunch of parachuting babies on a board book cover and expect that I’m going to instantly fall in love with the book. I have standards, people! And yes, that’s a killer cover. I mean, when my own babies did tummy time we use to say that they were skydiving because they’d lift all their limbs at once, very much like the babes on this cover. But what makes this kooky little title work as well as it does (aside from the ridiculous situations in which these babies find themselves) is that it includes great photography, some fun counting, rhymes, and bright vibrant colors. The babies are a nice range of skin tones and ethnicities, as is right. There’s the almost requisite mirror at the end of the book, of course. And then, as an extra added bonus, there’s a section of different animals, insects, flowers, and objects that allow you to count from 1 to 10 as well. I hate to say it, but I feel like the combo of counting and faces (which babies do adore) makes this a cut above the rest of a lot of the board books out there. Skydiving babies and all. 

Bunny Loves Beans by Jane Whittingham

Ah. The most shameless series is back. No doubt if you saw Whittingham’s previous book Bear Has a Belly then you know that there is no cuteness level she won’t strive to crest. These books are part of Pajama Press’s “Toddler Tough” series, meaning they have kind of poofy covers with thin but highly laminated/strong pages on the inside. There’s a helpful “Parental Guide” at the back, which mostly just gives a variety of different justifications for why the books are good above and beyond the fact that there’s an adorable bunny on the cover. Inside, of course, the book pairs beautiful photographs of cute animals with healthy, colorful foods AND kids eating those foods. So you’ve got colors, animals, healthy foods, and a diverse array of kids’ faces. The photos are mostly Shutterstock images, which is perfectly fine. It’s hard to complain when you’re practically able to count the nose hairs on a squirrel. The fact of the matter is that this is a legitimately beautiful book that small kids will enjoy AND that will hold up to a beating. The fact that adults will enjoy it as well is a very nice plus. 

The Belly Song by Mother Moon, ill. Leah Giles

Body positivity can appear in a number of ways in children’s books but it can often be difficult finding the right tonal mix. You want to be upbeat but not pandering. Informative but super simple (particularly if you’re working on a board book of some sort). And inclusivity? That’s a must. Belly Song is one of those rare beasties that straddles such a mix well. The whole focus is on bellies. Big. Little. Round. Flat. The book never makes one sound any better than any other, and while you’re looking at baby bellies, you’re also looking at the bellies of their caregivers as well. The key is in the variety. One additional cool element comes at the end when the final baby yells, “Again!” and then you get the text of the book (which rhymes) on a single page at the very end. It’s a pretty cool sight in a pretty cool book.

Colors / Los Colores by Ekaterina Trukhan, designed by Meagan Bennett

Just a word of warning to wise librarians; the flips in this book? They ain’t flaps. They’re little cards that pop right out. You might point out that it will take only a single, solitary circulation for all the little cards to disappear, but the beauty of the book is that, honestly? You don’t need them. Take, for example, the first two-page spread. On the left-hand page is strawberry/la fresca. On the right-hand page is a vibrant red background with the word “red”. The other side of the card says “rojo” (so that if you prefer one word or another to be face forward, the choice is yours). Then both words appear underneath, so that even if you loose the card, the words remain. You could easily just pop out all the cards and use them to quiz kids for fun, if you wanted to. The pages are sturdy, the illustrations simple but keen, and the whole thing a class act. A great, grand, gorgeous bilingual basic boos.

Hello, Bedtime by Jannie Ho

High-contrast comes to the fore with a series of books illustrated by Jannie Ho. They’re part of duopress labs’ “High-Contrast Book” series, six of them released in 2024 alone. Their tagline: “Visual Nourishment for Babies’ Brains”. Catchy! Of the six released, I confess that this particular book is my favorite. It’s one of those board books that serves a purpose above and beyond the creators’ original intentions. A very young baby who digs the high-contrast isn’t necessarily going to understand about bedtime yet, but as they age and the book is put into continual use, that concept will begin to make its mark. Definitely the kind of book we need to see more of on our shelves. 

The I Can Say Dada Book by Stephanie Cohen

The I Can Say Mama Book by Stephanie Cohen

Let us be clear. Just because you’re an early speech expert, that’s no guarantee that your board book that aims to use, “a proven approach to help babies and toddlers” learn to say either Mama or Dada is going to (a) work and (b) be any good as an actual book. What I like so much about this series is that Sourcebooks knew how to balance the parental aspects alongside something a baby might actually like to engage with. So, on the baby side of the equation, the book is filled with bright and colorful photographs of a babies with their parents, hailing from a range of skin tones. Each two-page spread tends to rhyme, (“Book, DADA!” / “Cook, DADA”) and the babies themselves are cute enough that a reader probably won’t mind going over it again and again and again with their soon-to-be verbal offspring. On the parental side of things there’s a large “How To Use This Book” section at the back that offers tips and tricks to getting kids to connect the words on the page with what they mean. One piece of advice is to “Put Yourself In the Book” by pasting in a photograph. Probably not useful for the library copies, but could make a lot of sense for those folks who own the books. All told, this is pretty cool. And if you want to see these tips at work, apparently you can follow Stephanie @learntotalkwithme on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Let’s Go, Baby! by Flowerpot Press

Often I’m quite fond of the Flowerpot Press titles, and so I’ll include them on this list. That said, I’m not overly fond of Flowerpot’s disinclination to credit its authors or where, precisely, they get the photographs for their books. I’m not used to publishers being quite this tight-lipped, so I’m including three Flowerpot books today but with the caveat that you may never know their true creators. Odd. In this book you’ve an array of beautiful photographs (my board book weakness) coupled with a text on what getting ready and going consists of for a small child. From dressing, to visits to grandparents, to snacks and baths, the images do a good job of showing a wide range of types of people. Babies love faces and there are faces galore on these little pages. A book to grab and go with.

Little Lamb, Where Are You? by Ekaterina Trukhan

Little Lion, Where Are You? by Ekaterina Trukhan

Little Owl, Where Are You? by Ekaterina Trukhan

Little Tiger, Where Are You? by Ekaterina Trukhan

Shoot. Why settle for just one mirror in the back of a book when you can indulge in FIVE big, beautiful mirrors, all hidden under flap, instead? A word of warning to the wise. Pay attention to how often you see the name Ekaterina Trukhan in my inclusions today. Somehow she became the go to person when you need a board book illustrator. You’ll see! In this case, gentle rhymes ask each little animal things like, “Little pig, Little pig, where are you?” to be responded with “Here I am! Here I am! Where are you?” You then pull down the face of the animal in question (which sounds more dire than it actually is) and voila! A mirror! I can’t pretend to understand the rudimentary price points of including mirrors in board books, but if it’s cheap then I don’t know why this hasn’t really been done before. Give us faces! Faces galore!

Miro I Look by Gavin Bishop

The name “Gavin Bishop” is no stranger to my lists, but this book is an interesting deviation from his regular stuff. Bishop, a New Zealand author/illustrator of Tainui and Ngāti Awa heritage, presents us with a book that pairs his usual faces alongside objects like keys, teddy bears, dogs, etc. The book has thick board book-esque pages, but the size is a little larger (around 8.75” x 8.75”) and you get your money’s worth with a slew of more pages than you’d usually find. Now just add in the fact that it’s also bilingual (Spanish/English) and you’ve got yourself an incredible book! Come for the faces. Stay for ALL the other stuff!

Playtime! A Tummy Time Play Book for Babies by Red Comet Press LLC

Ah ha! This would be the third in the Red Comet Press board book Tummy Time Books series, and I am here for it! Accordion books (the kinds you can open and and place around a baby from an early age) are some of my favorites. I loved placing them around my own babies when they were growing up long long ago. Combine that with high contrast images, and the fact that this newest book has little holes that you can wiggle your fingers through (something I used to do with a lot of Herve Tullet’s board books, back in the day), and you’ve got yourself an all around winner. The sole thing I do not like about these books is the fact that the author/illustrator is just credited to the company itself. Love you, Red Comet, but I’d love to know some of the names that actually put this book together!

What Is Baby Wearing? by Flowerpot Press

Flowerpot Press returns. You cans see my previous statement about crediting and creators (or lack thereof) Written for the youngest of readers, this has LOTS of faces for babies to stare at and enjoy. There’s a nice mix of different kinds of people and photos, photos, photos. What’s not to love?

Yeah, Baby! by Flowerpot Press

Check out that cover. Seriously, what genius took that shot? That is just one of those once-in-a-lifetime images you probably WISH was in your own family album. This book is a celebration of all those small baby wins. “You smiled at mom. Yeah, baby!” Now can you imagine how much fun this is to read aloud? I mean, I love any board book that allows the adult to have as much fun as the kid and that repeated refrain of “Yeah, baby!” just aches to be said with the right oomph and panache. Until that final, “You fell asleep. Yeah, baby!” Then you better be whispering it. The kind of board book that begs to be performed. 

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2024 Board Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Baby Diplodocus by Julie Abery, ill. Gavin Scott

Baby Triceratops by Julie Abery, ill. Gavin Scott

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a dinosaur board book is never “good”. I don’t mean that they’re ever offensive or anything. They’re just never particularly memorable. An unfortunate fact, considering how many toddlers and preschoolers naturally gravitate to them. The sole exception to this rule that I have ever been able to find over the years are these “Baby” books by Abery & Scott. I think it was last year that I encountered Baby Stegosaurus and Baby T.Rex and found myself charmed by them. Now we add a Diplodocus and Triceratops to the mix. The more dramatic of the two is Triceratops. Somehow, in its scant pages, there’s room for family, danger, near escapes, separation, the whole 9 yards. I very much liked that when the Triceratops were chased it wasn’t necessarily by a T.rex or anything. Just a general toothy meat eater. Those who claim that you can’t pack in plot with simple wordplay have never met this series. A tip of my hat and a bow for this creative team. They know not what they hath wrought. 

Below the Ice by Michaël Escoffier, ill. Ella Charbon

I’m not above enjoying a little misdirection with my board books. This is definitely one that should be for the slightly older readers, if only because they’ll be the only ones to “get” it. Initially I was a tad put off by the text. The first line is, “Nouka is independent. She doesn’t need anyone.” Not everyday you read the word “independent” in a board book. But as the story goes on you see a girl fishing above and, below, a small fish. The two begin a tug of war on a line. As they struggle each one is joined by friends to help in the fight. As more and more friends join on either side, finally the line can’t take it and it breaks. The big reveal at the end? Nouka isn’t the child. She’s the fish. This is also notable for being one of the very few vertically designed board books I’ve ever seen. Smart and funny, I bet it’s a book an older child could read to a younger and then explain to them. Smarter than your average fish.  

Big and Little: A Book of Animal Opposites by Harriet Evans, ill. Linda Tordoff

When making an original board book with flaps on a concept like opposites, there are a couple things the creators need to bear in mind. First off, how sturdy are those flaps exactly? They don’t need to have the thickness of an orange rind, necessarily, but ideally they should be nice and big and easy to grab and not come off with the slightest tap or tug. Next, you need to do something to make the concept original. You could probably fill a library with the number of opposite books that have come out in the past. In this particular case, the secret weapon here is the art of Linda Tordoff and whatever art designer (sadly unnamed) worked with her to make these flaps make sense. The neat part of the book is that each animal featured flips with a flap to show its own opposite. So for “Day and night” you have a rooster crowing towards a sun, but flip it open and it’s an owl beneath the moon. A big whale flips up and you seen all the little fish underneath. It’s that perfect combination of clever and beautiful that I strive to find in my board books all the time. The kind I wish we saw more of in the future, that’s for sure. 

Finn’s Fun Trucks: Firefighters by Finn Coyle, ill. Srimalie Bassani

So I’m not always on board with the “Finn’s Fun Trucks” series, but once in a while I really like what it puts together. Case in point, this lovely addition to every firefighter loving kid’s bookshelf. If you are a parent who finds themselves with a kid who can’t get enough of firefighting (and who patiently explains to their parents the difference between a fire truck and a fire engine), Finn’s book is for them. First off, it has the wherewithal to understand these differences and then add to them. How many children’s books can you name that feature a mobile command center? I also, and this is going to sound silly, really appreciated that there was actual fire being fought in this book. Some of it, wholly new. I mean, I’ve never seen a passenger plane on fire in a board book before, have you? With flaps that allow you to see each truck in action, this is a pretty cool addition to a well-worn genre. 

Five Speckled Frogs by Yu-hsuan Huang

Yu-hsuan Huang is an old hand at the board book game and has been doing them for probably a decade now. Now I wasn’t actually familiar with this particular song, so I cannot gauge how well it replicates the original. What I can tell you is that the interactive elements, so familiar with Nosy Crow board books, are just as good as ever. This book contains one particular feature that to this day I’ve never quite worked out. It’s a wheel that you can turn, in this case of four frogs on a log, but after they pass behind some shrubbery and emerge, there are not only three frogs on the log but they’re facing the reader. This fun little element is found in a lot of Nosy Crow board books and short of ripping the fool books apart, I suppose I’ll have to let it remain a mystery. 

Flora and Friends: Colors by Molly Idle

A word of advice for picture book illustrators who are compelled by their publishers to produce board books based on their popular characters: Should you wish for a kind of literary success above and beyond the monetary kind (which is always nice too) I will direct your attention to one Molly Idle. Last year I had the delight of presenting her Flora and Friends: ABC to a large group of librarians and you should have heard the audible gasps when I lifted a flap to reveal a murder of crows in flight. You’ll find that same satisfaction on the pages of this book as well. Following in the footsteps of the Caldecott Honor winning (and much deserved) Flora and the Flamingo, this concept book uses her customary bird-centric storytelling to introduce color mixing. Red and yellow make orange. Yellow and blue make green. That sort of thing. I’ve always liked Flora as a character. Aside from her natural grace and beauty, how awesome is it not to have some skinny waif prancing about a book’s pages for once? Flora’s always been so body positive, and no one really talks about it. Even so, this book’s just as delightful as its predecessors. Worth discovering if you haven’t seen them before. 

Good Night Belly Button by Lucie Brunellière

Sometimes simplicity makes for the best board books of all. This clever little French import does something I’ve not really ever seen done before. At the start, you have to turn the book vertically. At the top of the page, a white, red-headed toddler is lying in pjs, stuffie in hand, head on a pillow. Below is a flap that reads, “Good night, little feet!” Raise the flap and now a coverlet is covering the feet, revealing another flap that reads, “Good night, little calves!”. That flap covers up the lower legs next, and so on. Part of what’s so neat about this is that a child could tuck the book’s child in, even as their grown-up tucks them in at the same time. But really, it’s cleverness of the construction that I love. A great idea wrought small. 

Hello Hello Colors by Brendan Wenzel

Hello Hello Shapes by Brendan Wenzel

Join a plethora of animals from all over the world as they display their glorious colors and poise themselves into a wide array of fun shapes. Concept books are rarely this gorgeous. I mean, let’s just admit that if Brendan Wenzel wrote a board book called Hello Hello Phallocentric Patriarchy I’d probably still be a big time fan. Unbiased observer, I am not. The man has such a distinctive style, and he already created a board book a couple years ago that was just called Hello Hello. It makes sense that he’d continue the theme with his favorite subject matter: animals from the natural world. These books are perfect for the youngest of young readers, since they’re covering very simple concepts with very simple shapes and colors and texts. But the reason I’m particularly entranced is the backmatter. Not only does the man identify each animal, he also notes if they are near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. He’s not making a big show out of that information or anything, but it’s useful to see it mentioned just the same. A marvelous way of hooking ankle biters into caring for our natural world through other concepts.

Hide and Seek in Nature: Guess What It Is by Helena Haraštová, ill. Serafima Kosikava

Look through these pictures. What do you see? Don’t let the cut-outs fool you. Nature is a lot trickier than you might expect! This is one of any number of titles in this series, but I’m rather fond of this particular one since I love that it doesn’t entirely play fair. The cutouts deliberately lead you astray, and there’s something in that set up of expectations and then complete disarray after that amuses me deeply. Definitely meant for some of the preschoolers out there rather than the toddlers, though honestly I think a toddler might even get a kick out of some of this. Besides, who can resist a good lift-the-flap book when it has such nice cutouts as well?

Hit the Piñata by Jeffrey Burton, ill. Neil Clark

Okay, I am not 100% certain that this book works as well as its creators intended, but I’m giving it some extra points for trying to do something original, by gum. In fact, what this book wants to do proved so unexpected to me that I had to try to figure out precisely how to get it to work for a while. One thing I can say is that once you’ve broken a copy of Hit the Piñata in, it works more smoothly with successive attempts. So the whole idea, essentially, is that you, the reader, are shaking each piñata on each page. Sounds simple, right? But here’s the rub: You have to hold the book just right and shake it just right (preferably a little to the side) to get the candy to fall out. Now I know what you’re thinking. “Betsy, why do you shake the piñata? Isn’t the book called Hit the Piñata? Why don’t you hit it instead?” Good question. Particularly when the instructions inside specifically tell kids to “hit”. That means that their grown-ups are going to have to be the ones to figure out that shaking is required (the cover does say “shake me for sliding surprises” but I think we all know how hard it is for some folks to notice small details like this. When you do shake successfully, a long stream of candies comes out of the side. There’s no tab, so you can’t pull them out on your own. The shaking is 100% required instead. This has both the disadvantage of being a difficult maneuver to get right sometimes (some piñatas are stickier than others) and the advantage of making your grown-up look like a shaky fool. I think this probably needed a little more design work, but it’s so doggone weird and original that I’m giving it a pass today. Lord knows original board books are rare beasts.  

I Like Your Chutzpah: And Other Yiddish Words You’ll Like by Suzy Ultman

By all rights this should have been one of those books where inanimate objects say uplifting things that I do not generally like. But this book? It’s smarter than that. It’s funky. It’s legitimately funny. And the selection of Yiddish words inside? Sublime! The first page reads, “I like your punim (sweet face)” and then Ultman has drawn a dark-skinned kid giving a bit of side-eye and a smile. That’s how the rest of the book goes, with bold colors, fun images, and definitions along the way. There are the old standards that a lot of us know (schmutz, schtick, schpiel, oy vey, etc.) and a couple that were new to me (mishpocha, seykhel). This book is friggin’ charming. I tried to resist it. I failed. Find yourself a copy and stat!

Just Like You by Anne Wynter, ill. Letícia Moreno

This is one of two titles by the illustrious Wynter/Moreno team, and while it may look like a million, billion board books already out there, this one has style, panache, and an undercurrent that may well amuse adult caregivers as much as small children. A toddler attempts to be “just like” each member of their family. However, this being a toddler and all, each attempt falls flat, sometimes spectacularly. Whether they’re squeezing lemons, picking tomatoes, or tossing a salad (dad’s expression on this one: timeless), nothing quite goes right. Then, and this is amazing, the book ends on a high note when at a picnic each family member messes something up all at the same time and the toddler realizes that they’re all “just like me!”. I mean, talk about sticking the landing. That’s a legitimate plot with minimal words and a storyline a preschooler could more than understand. Wow. I’m just wowed. 

Knock Knock Who’s There by Rob Hodgson

This one’s definitely on the upper end of our spectrum, age-wise. It may also be the most successful knock knock joke book for kids I’ve seen to date. Those great big googly eyes (as seen on the cover) peer through the mail slot of a house at the unimpressed cat inside. Each time someone knocks they engage in a knock knock joke that explains who they are. “Knock, knock!” “Who’s there?” “Cows go…” “Cows go who?” “Cows don’t go WHO, they go… MOO!” For me, the whole book hinges on the final knock knock joke which is, legitimately, very funny. Sort of a transitional reader that teaches kids how to tell a good joke, and actually contains darn decent ones inside. Plus, y’know. Googly eyes. Who can resist?

Let’s Go Home, Baby Shark by Carolina Búzio

Let’s Go Home, Baby Tiger by Carolina Búzio 

Ace predators guide their babies through pernicious landscapes. Can you get baby tiger or baby shark home? You can, while learning about different landscapes, terrains, plants, and animals along the way. We’ve seen this particular style of board book before in the past. They’re the kinds where you’ve a little round cardboard circle that you guide through grooves on the page. The fact of the matter is that these kinds of board books really stand up to repeated use better than lift-the-flap titles or anything else with easily rippable parts. You want to get the baby tiger or shark out of this book? Good luck with ALL that! Best of all, these books are particular perfect at inspiring a love of nature since clever Ms. Búzio made sure to put labeled plants and animals the left-hand side for kids to learn about and find on the right-hand side. So basically you have a seek-and-find, tactile, interactive, nature-loving board book that’s pretty to look at to boot. A winner all around!

Let’s Make Music by Alexandra Penfold, ill. Suzanne Kaufman

This is one of several books in Penfold and Kaufman’s “All Are Welcome” board book series (not to be confused with the picture books as well). It can be difficult to find board books that are appropriate as readalouds but that aren’t just adaptations of nursery rhymes and songs. This particular book is ideal storytime fodder. It includes instructions to the listening kids on what to do. “Let’s make music! Hear that beat. / Clap your hands. Tap your feet.” Better still, when the book asks the listeners to “Feel your feet go tap tap tap,” you don’t need to worry that kids unable to use their feet will be left out since on the next page it says “Now your hands go clap clap clap” and one of the kids is in a wheelchair. It’s nicely inclusive, but also has clever little lines like, “Take a turn on the kalimba. / Grab the mallets. Play marimba.” That’s probably my favorite rhyme in a board book this year. Too fun to be ignored.

Lionel Is Just Like Dad by Éric Veillé, translated by Daniel Hahn

Lionel! He’s back! Veillé is just one of those book creators who knows how to create particularly charming characters with a mere flick of his wrist. Lionel had already appeared in such previous delights as Lionel Eats All By Himself and Lionel Poops. Defecation is wholly absent from his latest, as the little guy attempts to emulate his father in every possible way. Putting aside the fact that Lionel is a child lion with a full grown mane (we’re going for charm, not scientific accuracy, people), it’s hard not to be utterly delighted by the tone of these books. Throughout the book you see what Dad does, and inevitably it’s followed up with “And so does Lionel”. Even when Dad has some unexpected reactions. Loving and odd, the best possible combination. 

Little Simon Says: Left Hand, Right Hand by Dori Elys, ill. Ekaterina Trukhan

Confession time. My kids are 13 and 10 and they still are super unclear on the whole left/right concept. That’s on me. Somehow I didn’t drill that idea into their skulls early on, and it can be a bit of a problem when we’re biking and I want everyone to turn in a particular direction. Interestingly, there aren’t a ton of books out there to help with the concept. But why wait until a kid is into picture books? Let’s get ‘em early with a board book instead! I can’t help but love what Elys and Trukhan (she’s baaaaack) have done with this one too. First off, the cover is keen. You’ve a carpet-like lavender swatch on the left, and pink fur on the right. Then inside you’ve lots of things to touch and feel, and each time you can have the child do it with either hand, drilling home which one is doing what as you read. This is great!

My Busy Noisy Day by Sophie Aggett, ill. Malgorzata Detner

This is one of the few board books on this list you will encounter that has an on and off switch of its very own. Let the record show that not all on/off switch books for young children are created equal (I’m looking at you, Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle). What sets this particular book apart from the pack are the play elements built in. This book is written entirely in the second person. “You” are up to a lot of things today and so the perspective is all from “your” point of view. You brush your teeth right from the get-go, and then on the second page you get a phone call. As such, you’re very much pretending to be a grown-up. Then you have to get a UPS package from the front door (okay, it doesn’t say it’s UPS but “Pronto Packages” but we all know what it’s trying to say). After that you lock the door with your keys, you drive your car, pay for parking (that one made me laugh), use your charge card at the grocery store (thorough, right?), then get back home to do the laundry, vacuum, and bake a pie. These are all things a young child might see their grown-ups doing in the course of a given day, but I’ve never seen a book really lean into each section. There are 26 sounds in total that you can make happen by pressing certain small circles on each page, from a blender to a fire truck’s alarm. I think we have a hit on our hands here. 

My Hair Is Like Yours by St. Clair Detrick-Jules, ill. Tabitha Brown

Gorgeous gorgeousness abounds in this title. And how could it not? This is a creation from the same team that brought us that glorious board book My Hair Is Like the Sun last year (and yes, I most certainly did include it on the 2023 Board Book List). The true standout here isn’t just the photography, which is amazing. I mean, I don’t know who these people are, but Tabitha Brown (who is confusingly credited as an “illustrator” rather than a “photographer”, oddly) has presented an array of families and hairstyles that defy description. Meanwhile, St. Clair Detrick-Jules writes a simple but fabulous text that describes how each child resembles their relative. “My hair is like my friend’s, picked out into a fro. / My hair is like my twin’s, tied in a bun just so.” Oh. Did I mention it also rhymes? Because apparently this wasn’t a difficult enough assignment already. This book is incredible. One of the best.

No More Sleeping In by Anne Wynter, ill. Letícia Moreno

The second book out this year by the Wynter/Moreno team (the other being Just Like You) and it’s a doozy. I’m afraid this title will be ideal for a baby shower gift since it is essentially a parent’s life for months at a time. A toddler sets out to wake up each member of the family, declaring that no one is sleeping in today (check out mom and dad’s expressions when they turn on some music and start clapping). Everyone gamely gets up but it’s still friggin’ dark outside (been there) so they just fall asleep on the couch. And our hero? Falls asleep right alongside them until the sun comes up. Actually, this one may hit a little TOO close to home. 

Number Train by Jonathan Emmett, ill Ingela P. Arrhenius

While I am a staunch defender of the great historic librarian Anne Carroll Moore, there is one point upon which the two of us most certainly diverge. ACM had a distinct dislike of any book that fell too far over the line into what might be considered a “toy”. Even board books (such as they were at the time) were not exempt from her disdain. One can only imagine how she would react to seeing something as downright enjoyable and playable as Number Train.  It’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades board book. First, it has wheels. Beautiful wheels that allow you to, when closed, make it ride all around (presumably while making choo-choo noises). Second, it is a “giant lift-the-flap concertina book” (something it declares proudly on its own cover). That means you can open it up and display it that way. It is ALSO a counting book! Those flaps you lift lead to alliterative descriptions of different animals partaking of various activities on the train on one side. On the other side all those same animals have gotten mixed up, and you have the choice of trying to find and count each one through the various train cars. Sometimes when a book says it can provide hours of fun it’s stretching the truth a little. This book doesn’t make that claim, but I think it could do so with impunity. 

On Powwow Day by Traci Sorell, ill. Madelyn Goodnight

Oh shoot, this is amazing! Man, I don’t usually fall quite so hard for counting board books, but this book is incredible! It’s a powwow day encapsulated with colors, sounds, and counting, but done so simply that it would work with even the youngest of readers. For example, on the first page you get “1. One car drives to the powwow. VROOM! VROOM! Do you see the blue car?” So you also have interactive elements where kids get to find the things being pointed out in the text. This book has strong The Very Hungry Caterpillar energy. What I mean by that is that it’s capable of being several different kinds of concept books all at the same time without overwhelming the reader or becoming too much. Add in the fantastic art by Madelyn Goodnight, and you have yourself one of the best dang board books of 2024. Find this one! Read it!!

Time for Bed by Kathryn Jewitt, ill. Danielle Mudd, book design by Heather Kelly

Board book technology upgrades aren’t something you see every day. I sometimes like to paint myself as the jaded old librarian who seen all the board books you can name. Nothing can surprise me! But this “little softies” series coming out of Abrams has promise. The pages are thin die-cuts glued down onto soft but sturdy colored felt pages. No doubt enterprising tiny fingers would be able to rip some of these die-cuts asunder, but I gave it a whirl myself and it would take repeated pickings to make any progress against them. They’re strong! The book tells a variety of different farmyard animals that it’s time to bed down, and all the while you have the tactile felt to touch along the way. This is a book that gives you a lot more to feel than your average board book, so well done there! Worth a gander. 

Trains by Johnny Dyrander

Okay, I’m getting nitpicky now. Why include this year’s “Make Tracks” title by Johnny Dyrander Trains and not Trucks? I can’t believe I have to say this out loud since it’s so obvious, but come on people! The choo choo sound! Look, I know the truck makes a very nice “Rrrr Rrrr” sound, and I don’t want to disparage that. But is there even any competition out there to the “chugga chugga” and “choo choo” sound of a train? Let me tell you, when my kids were littles I killed, killed I say, with my chugga chugga rendition of Freight Train by Donald Crews, thank you very much. And now here we have a train that a kid can actually move within a book on a little track? You’re gonna tell me there’s not gonna be some SERIOUS chugga chugga action going on there? And yes, pedants, I know that the freight train in this book doesn’t actually say chugga chugga. Who the heck cares? I’m making the freight train, the steam train, the subway train, AND the high speed train all say it! Who’s gonna stop me? No one, that’s who. So for true chugga chugga action, this is the book to get. Nuff said. 

Welcome to the Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson, ill. Megan Lloyd

What’s the most hopping spot in all the desert? Welcome to the cactus hotel! Watch as birds, beasts, and insects all rely on a single cactus and everything it provides. Board book alert! You folks don’t know how many board books I reject on a regular basis for this list. But this one sort of proves to me that deserts are the hot new landscape (gah, I’m corny) of 2024. Now my #1 problem with nonfiction board books is often that there are too many words per page. Guiberson clearly knows what she is doing, however, because she keeps everything really nice and simple. It wouldn’t hand this to a baby, but a preschooler could really get something out of it. Plus, I just love how efficiently it shows a wide range of animals and insects living off of a single plant species. The economical use of words here is to be commended! All other nonfiction board books should take note of this one and follow suit.

Who’s the Boss? by Émile Jadoul

Am I a little kooky for loving board books with twist endings? Very well then, I am kooky. A giraffe, elephant, crocodile, and tiger all compete to be “the boss” (a cute little crown passing between them as they debate). I’m sure you’ve heard stories similar to this one in the past. It’s a classic folktale set-up. The giraffe proclaims itself the tallest, the elephant boasts that it’s the strongest, and so on. So what’s the twist? I mean, I’m hesitant to give it away, but why not? All at once the four animals hear a bellowing, “STOP!” Who is the true boss? Pull back and you can see that they’re just little finger puppets and the small child wielding them is the bossiest boss of them all. I love the little tiny detail that the kid has drawn a smiley face on its thumb to represent itself (the kid has about as much hair as its thumb too, come to think of it). In the end, the kid declares that as the official boss it’s going to put everyone to bed. Love that little detail and love this book. Bossy in all the right ways. 

Winter Light by Aaron Becker

Aaron Becker is the kind of board book creator that makes a person consider why it is that board books are not, generally speaking, tapped more often for artistic expression. I think a lot of us have encountered the literary world’s inherent rejection of the juvenile, and that goes for the art world as well. Even so, every once in a while a children’s book illustrator will try their hand at the form. Some board books come out looking derivative. Others are neat to adults, and dull to children. To strike the right chord and the right balance takes a particular vein of artistic creativity that, to be perfectly frank, the majority of us lack. But not Becker. This isn’t his first rodeo, of course. You Are Light, One Sky, and My Favorite Color all explore this interplay between text and light in a board book format. Of the three, One Sky is undeniably my own favorite. It was probably just a matter of time before he created a non-denominational wintertime book that looks as beautiful in a window as on a board book shelf. He even does this clever little thing where he references both Hanukkah and Christmas elements without naming either or getting all that specific about it. I mean, from a branding point of view, this is a helluva thing. Put this in a home with lights behind some of its pages and just watch the tiny hands play with the die-cut diamonds and coo at the pretty greens and reds. Strange, languid, lovely, and smart.

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2024 Reprinted Board Books

Black and White in Color by Tana Hoban

Okay. This is more of an update than a reprint but it is also, and I mean this sincerely, my favorite board book of 2024. I am so amazed that I almost missed it. Black and White by Tana Hoban was always the quintessential accordion, high-contrast book for babies. It was simple. It was to the point. It does not age. So the idea of updating it (I think we can all agree that this title is relatively ridiculous) is nutso. And yet, and yet, and yet… this works beautifully. It isn’t just that they paired full-color baby faces with each of the original images. They also have the black and white image’s object with the baby in real life. Now suddenly there’s a connection between reality and illustration in a way we’ve just never seen before. Mind? BLOWN!

Happy by Mies Van Hout

Insofar as I can tell, this is actually the THIRD time this particular book has shown up on a 31 Days, 31 Lists list. How is that possible? Well, time #1 this book showed up on the translated picture books list. Then, many years later, the publisher reprinted it, so last year it showed up on the Reprinted Picture Books list. Now that same clever publisher (Pajama Press) has put this same dang book out as a board book and consarn it, it works even better this way! The book was always distinctly simple to begin with so it just makes sense to be published for the youngest young. Gotta love its brightly colored fishies splayed across the page against deep black backgrounds. Then you get single descriptions like “shy” or “brave” on individual pages. The fishies get black backgrounds. The words get colors. The whole things works like a charm. 

Let’s Play! by Hervé Tullet

Tullet has slowly but surely been turning his interactive picture books into interactive board books over the last decade or so. He adapted his best-known book (here in America anyway) Press Here quite a while ago. Then came Mix It Up! Now we’ve the third in the triumvirate, Let’s Play! which, like its predecessors, adapts so adeptly that you may find yourself wondering why on earth it wasn’t released as a board book in the first place. I suppose the reality of the situation is that few people remain for weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists with board books. After all, Tullet had lots of board books out in the States about 10 years ago, which I used to read to my kids all the time, but they hardly made the splash that they deserved. With this book, a parent and preschooler can sit together and move the little colored dots all over the the place, following the directions of the beneficent narrator. In its original form Booklist called this, “Interactive, inventive and intuitive.” Perfectly put. 

We All Play / kimêtawânaw by Julie Flett

This is why I’m not an editor. I never quite understand when I see a picture book how much potential it may or may not have as a board book. Now sometimes you see a board book created from a picture book and you think to yourself, “That was a terrible idea.” And sometimes you see a board book created from a picture book and you think to yourself, “Well, duh.” This falls into the latter category, most certainly. If you didn’t see it the first time around, the book shows the various things that animals do, paired alongside the Cree words for each. There’s even a little “List of Animals” at the end that doesn’t just provide the words we’ve seen before but talks about what you’d say if there was more than one of a given animal and what the “Younger, Smaller, Cuter” versions are called. Flett’s a general genius anyway, so the art is keen, and the whole product a class act. If you want to give someone a board book that looks good but that’s also beautiful and fun to read, I’d call this a top pick.

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That’s it for today! Be sure to stay tuned for more lists on 2024 titles. The full roster is here:

December 1 – Great Board Books

December 2 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 3 – Simple Picture Book Texts

December 4 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Funny Picture Books

December 7 – CaldeNotts

December 8 – Picture Book Reprints

December 9 – Bilingual Books for Kids

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Books with a Message / Social Emotional Learning

December 12 – Fabulous Photography

December 13 – Translated Picture Books

December 14 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religious Tales

December 15 – Wordless Picture Books

December 16 – Poetry Books

December 17 – Unconventional Children’s Books

December 18 – Easy Books & Early Chapter Books

December 19 – Comics & Graphic Novels

December 20 – Older Funny Books

December 21 – Science Fiction Books

December 22 – Fantasy Books

December 23 – Informational Fiction

December 24 – Gross Books

December 25 – Science & Nature Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Blueberry Award Contenders (Celebrating the Environment)

December 28 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 29 – Nonfiction Books for Older Readers

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books