Best Books for Toddlers (1–3 Years): SG Mum-Approved Picks

I only recommend products and services that I use myself. This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you to support the on-going maintenance of the site. You can read the full disclaimer here.

Looking for the best books for toddlers (1-3 years) in Singapore? You’re in the right place! As a Singaporean mum who grew up an avid reader, I’ve always wanted to spark a lifelong love of reading in my little one. Since my daughter was born, we’ve been slowly building our home toddler library and visiting NLB libraries regularly. Now at 2+ years old, we read about 5 to 20 books a day, depending on her mood—and how my throat’s holding up—so trust me, we’ve gone through plenty of toddler books (many of them repeatedly too!).

To help fellow mums get started, I’ve curated a list of the best books for 1 to 3 year olds based on our experience. In this list, you’ll find SG mum-approved favourites—from picture books for toddlers to a carefully selected toddler bedtime books collection and more. Whether you’re just starting your toddler’s collection or adding new gems, I hope these picks make story time something to look forward to every day.

How I Select Best Books for Toddlers (1-3 Years)?

Choosing the right books for toddlers can be overwhelming amidst the wide variety, so I focus on a few simple criteria to make sure each book is a good fit for my daughter:

• Age-Appropriate Content: The story and illustrations must suit toddlers aged 1 to 3, with simple language and engaging visuals.
• Durable Format (where possible): Board books or sturdy pages that can withstand curious little hands and occasional chewing are a huge bonus.
• Interactive Elements: Books with flaps, textures, or repetitive phrases to keep my toddler engaged and encourage participation.
• Relatable Themes: Stories about everyday experiences, emotions, or topics that toddlers can connect with. THIS is especially important – in fact I try to avoid stories about fantasy as much as possible.
• Bilingual & Chinese Language Options: 60% of our home library and almost 100% of the books we borrow from the library are Chinese books. The simple reason? I want my daughter to be exposed early to Chinese to support her language learning and help her connect with her cultural roots.

(Sharing this list of English books first, will be adding on the Chinese titles to the respective categories in due time as I have so many I need to sort them out!)

Best Books for Toddlers (1-3 Years) By Category

With these criteria in mind, I’ve split our favourite toddler books into easy-to-navigate categories to help you find the perfect read for your little one.

Animals & Nature

1. Goodnight Koala by Katie Button: We picked this to commemorate our Perth trip, but it’s part of a Magic Torch interactive book series. The books have different animals saying good night to their fellow animal friends with a magic torch to reveal them! Perfect for unwinding down for bedtime.

• Goodnight Tiger
• Goodnight Bear
• Goodnight Lamb
• Goodnight Monkey
• Goodnight Lion
• Goodnight Frog
• Goodnight Cat

2. Campbell Busy Books Series: The colourful and interactive elements invite little ones to explore lively scenes of many animals in different habitats. Sturdiest books with interactive elements I’ve come across so far – survived the many readings we put it through!

• Busy Farm *
• Busy Zoo *
• Busy Pets
• Busy Baby Animals
• Busy Safari
• Busy Jungle
• And many more

3. Usborne Farmyard Tales: Classic farm stories introducing animals and their adventures. Lightweight and perfect for on-the-go reading. Note: Pages are delicate but it’s an affordable set with many titles to enjoy.

• Dolly and the Train *
• The New Pony *
• The Grumpy Goat *
• Pig Gets Lost *
• The Silly Sheepdog *
• And many more

4. Usborne Peep Inside Series: Lift-the-flap books that take toddlers on a fun exploration of different habitats like trees, seas, jungles, and animal homes. We love this because even as adults we’ve learnt loads from this series. Note: The flaps aren’t super flimsy but it will tear with a strong-handed toddler. But nothing some scotch tape cannot help.

• Peep Inside a Tree *
• Peep Inside the Sea *
• Peep Inside the Jungle *
• Peep Inside Animal Homes *
• Peep Inside Dinosaurs *
• Peep Inside A Forest
• Peep Inside the Zoo
• And so many more

Vehicles & Occupations

1. Usborne Peep Inside Series: Interactive lift-the-flap books perfect for curious little ones who love things that go! There are a few titles which delve into different vehicles with plenty of fun facts to discover.

• Peep Inside How a Fire Engine Works *
• Peep Inside How a Tractor Works
• Peep Inside How a Truck Works
• Peep Inside How a Helicopter Works *
• Peep Inside How a Recycling Truck Works *
• Peep Inside How a Rocket Works *
• Peep Inside How a Helicopter Works *
• And so many more

2. Campbell Busy Books Series: The colourful and interactive (pull/tug/turning) elements invite little ones to explore a variety of different vehicles on the road! Sturdiest books with interactive elements I’ve come across so far – survived the many readings we put it through!

• Busy Trains
• Busy Diggers
• Busy Boats *
• Busy Tractor
• Busy Ambulance *
• Busy Cars

First Experiences & Everyday Life

I’ve found these books particularly helpful for my toddler to navigate new experiences and daily routines with these relatable stories, making transitions smoother and more enjoyable.

1. Usborne First Experiences Series: Simple stories with illustrations that help toddlers prepare for everyday events like going to the dentist, flying on a plane, and visiting the doctor. Also lightweight and easy to bring on the go! Note: Pages are delicate but it’s an affordable set (comes with farmyard tales).

• Going to the Dentist *
• Going on a Plane *
• Going to the Doctor *
• Going to the Hospital *
• Going to School *

Cultivating Good Habits

Most of my Chinese books fall under this category – will be adding them as soon as I’ve sorted them out!

Feelings & Emotions

I found that reading stories about feelings & emotions helped my toddler learn the words to express how she was feeling. Books became a gentle way to introduce tricky feelings like anger, fear, and sadness—and show that they’re all okay.

1. My Many Feelings: A simple, visual sturdy board book that helps toddlers identify and understand a range of emotions. What I really appreciate is that it uses real photos of actual children instead of illustrations—my little girl could relate much better seeing real faces expressing real feelings.

2. Find Out About Feelings: A Lift-The-Flap Book of Emotions: An interactive book with flaps that reveal how different situations might make someone feel. It encourages toddlers to recognise, name, and differentiate a range of emotions—a helpful tool for early emotional awareness.

3. Trace Moroney When I’m Feeling… Series: This series explores individual emotions like sadness, anger, and happiness through gentle storytelling. Each book offers more fleshed-out narratives, helping toddlers reflect on their feelings and find the words to express them. Note: Pages are of the more delicate nature. My girl has torn quite a few in her enthusiasm.

4. The Grand Hotel of Feelings: This is a beautifully illustrated and imaginative book that teaches children that ALL feelings are welcome guests—some stay briefly, while others linger longer. It also touches on a much wider range of emotions than the typical toddler book – from gratitude to anxiety which I appreciate.

5. The Colour Monster (Chinese title: 我的情绪小怪兽) : This book introduces us to a little monster whose emotions are all mixed up, and a little girl helps him sort them into different colours. Each colour represents a feeling—like yellow for happiness, blue for sadness, red for anger, and green for calm. Once his feelings are “organized,” he understands himself better and feels more in control. I love how the story makes emotional regulation feel like something fun and doable (like sorting colours).

6. The Usborne First Sticker Book Feelings: This is not so much a traditional read out loud book, than an interactive sticker book where toddlers match stickers to different everyday situations showing emotions.
It introduces simple feelings like happy, sad, angry, shy, and proud in very relatable scenes. Kids learn by doing—placing stickers and talking about what each character might be feeling.

7. The Rabbit Listened: This simple story is about a child going through a tough moment, where different animal friends try to fix it in their own ways, but only the quiet rabbit helps by simply listening. It gently shows that sometimes feelings don’t need solutions—just presence and understanding. My favourite part? It also helps toddlers see that there is not one but MANY different ways to cope with and move through big emotions.

Important Conversations: Identity, Consent etc.

I found these books super helpful in breaking down tricky conversations—like body autonomy, identity, and consent—into simple language and age-appropriate concepts that little ones can actually understand. They opened up natural ways to talk about important topics in a toddler-friendly way. Always on the look out for more titles touching on such topics.

1. Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race: A sturdy board book that offers gentle introduction to the concept of race, promoting inclusivity and understanding. Note: It’s written with a Western lens, so some parts may need local context or follow-up explanations for Singaporean toddlers.

2. Yes! No! A First Conversation About Consent: A super important book teaching toddlers about personal boundaries and the importance of consent. I LOVE THIS BOOK and would recommend to ALL parents to use this to start teaching your little ones how to give consent.

Celebrating Singapore: Culture & Community

1. Celebrations in Singapore Series: Beautifully illustrated stories that follow a little one as they explore major cultural festivals in Singapore — Deepavali, Hari Raya, Christmas, and Chinese New Year. A lovely way to introduce little ones to the diverse traditions, sights, and sounds of our local celebrations. My little one was so OBSESSED with the illustrations she kept poring over the books over and over by her own.

• Peacocks Around Little India (Deepavali in Singapore)
• The Moon Over Geylang Serai
• Stars on Orchard Road
• Dragons in Chinatown

2. The Invisible People Series: A beautiful local series that celebrates everyday heroes in Singapore — from bus drivers to migrant workers. Simple, meaningful stories that help toddlers build empathy and appreciate the people who keep our community going. Some titles are available in Chinese with Hanyu Pinyin too! My LO especially loves the one about her favourite 建筑工叔叔!

• Aunty Goes Home
• Uncles at Work 建筑工叔叔 *
• The Bus Driver 巴士司机 
• The Night Shift 值夜班
• Aunty Postman
• Ah Gong’s Uniform 阿公心爱的工作服

Inspirational Stories

Okay, these aren’t exactly “young toddler” books — they’re a little wordier than I usually prefer. But I LOVE the messages and illustrations so much I couldn’t resist including them. These are great for snuggly bedtime reads or early introductions to big, empowering ideas like resilience, self-belief, and finding joy in the little things in life.

1. You Can Do Hard Things: An uplifting read that reminds little ones (and their parents!) that it’s okay to struggle — and that they’re capable of more than they think.

2. The Wonder You See by Joanna Gaines: A much-needed message to encourage children to see beauty in the world around them — and within themselves. A lovely reminder to stay in awe and celebrate the little things in life. The illustrations are so beautifully perfect at getting the message across!

Start Building a Toddler Library You’ll Both Love!

From one toddler mum to another, these are the books that have truly made a difference in our home — the ones that helped me connect with my little girl, comfort her during tough transitions, and bring joy to our daily routines.

Whether it’s a silly book that gets her giggling at bedtime, or a quiet story that gently teaches her about kindness or emotions — I hope this list gives you a good starting point for building your own little library at home.

If you’d like to follow along as we discover new books (especially those in Chinese!), or just want real mum tips on what worked and what didn’t — come hang out with me on Instagram @mummy.list. I share honestly, just like how I’d tell a fellow mum friend over coffee.

Let’s grow our little libraries together — one book at a time.

Find this article “Best Books for Toddlers (1–2 Years): SG Mum-Approved Picks” useful? Do help share this article with your fellow mummy and daddy friends and spread the love! It’s not easy putting all this information together and I do hope for more to benefit from it! For more baby/toddler & parenting content and helpful tips, check out our other articles here: