I love, love, love to read. You’ve probably heard since before you even had kids that you should start reading to your children from birth, but sometimes it gets old reading the same old stories over and over. I found it hard to find books my children seemed really interested in when they were infants and toddlers, and amazon was often super overwhelming.

I turned to my friends for recommendations, and they never steered me wrong. Here are some books, both old and new, that my kids and my friends’ kids loved when they were babies and toddlers.

First off, a classic. If you don’t have Goodnight Moon yet in your home library, consider adding it. The illustrations are really mesmerizing for babies and the story is, as you may have guessed, great for bedtime.

Another classic that almost every young child seems to enjoy is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Again, the illustrations are beautiful and engaging and full of items that children see often.

Any of Sandra Boynton’s board books are a good choice. My sons especially loved Doggies, which is a counting book.

My baby niece is a big Llama Llama fan, and I am too. The books chronicle Baby Llama having to learn to deal with the frustrations in his life in an acceptable way. She also really loves Grumpy Cat (no, not the internet star), which has an adorable story line but also features cats, which she loves.

David is an adorable little boy that gets into trouble. A lot. This series includes board books, is very illustration heavy and totally adorable.

Finally, BabyLit books are super fun. They’re based off of classics like Pride and Prejudice (and if you’re a P&P fan, there’s a version of Goodnight Moon called Goodnight Mr. Darcy, too) and Moby Dick, but use really engaging pictures and text to teach things about things like counting and oceans.

If your city or town is lucky enough to have a Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, take advantage of it! You can register your child at birth (or after), and the program sends a new book each month (to keep!) for your child to enjoy. We were always very happy with the selections that came. And the best part–it’s FREE!

Meaghan Howard is a mom to two little boys, ages 3 and 6. She’s currently enjoying the expat life in Japan.