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Read Aloud Tips for Babies and Toddlers

Read Aloud 15 Minutes

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July 17, 2025

15 Read Aloud Tips 4x3

Research shows that reading aloud with children is the single most important thing you can do to prepare a child for reading and learning. Our partners at Read Aloud 15 Minutes national campaign promotes parents and caregivers reading aloud to their children at least 15 minutes every day starting at birth. First Book and Read Aloud 15 minutes have created a 15-title collection of books that are wonderful for reading aloud with very young children.

15 Tips

  1. Get excited! This is going to be fun! Enthusiasm is infectious, make sure children catch it.
  2. Read with expression. Go ahead! Use voices. Do sound effects. Make a fool of yourself… children will love it.
  3. Point to the pictures, and talk about them. Make them relatable: “Hey! That looks just like your toy train.”
  4. Even a squirmy worm may be listening. Babies are grabby. Give them their own book to hold or something to gnaw on while you read.
  5. Hungry baby? Multitask. It’s OK – and sometimes advisable – to offer snacks, nurse, or bottlefeed while reading aloud.
  6. If Mr. or Ms. Grabby Pants thwarts your best efforts, then sing, do finger plays, recite Mother Goose…and try, try again (later).
  7. Let your children turn the pages, if he or she can. And over time, the child will learn which end of the book is up, that the letters are the things you are reading, that text flows from left to right…
  8. Awesome pictures. Find books that have them.
  9. Little ones love rhyming, word play and songs – provide a healthy diet of books that feature them, and see how babies gain language.
  10. Short, simple board books are great for babies. In fact, some of the best books have hardly any words at all.
  11. Make reading aloud a habit when your baby is wee. Incorporate it into your daily routine, and it may soon become a treasured part of your day.
  12. Provide variety, but be prepared for repetition. A range of books with different authors and topics is fantastic – but don’t be surprised when baby wants the same beloved book over and over…and over.
  13. Books, books everywhere and lots of stuff to read. Nurture a reader: Make books an accessible part of your child’s environment.
  14. When reading aloud, find a comfortable spot where you won’t doze off or be overly distracted.
  15. Practice makes perfect – for the listener and the reader. The more you do it, the easier it will be.

 

Book Recommendations

  • Dinosaur vs. The Potty by Bob Shea
  • Your Personal Penguin by Sandra Boynton
  • Freight Train by Donald Crews
  • Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
  • Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli
  • Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems
  • Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
  • Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
  • Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
  • Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  • Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
  • The I Love You Book by Todd Parr
  • Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss

 

Check out Read Aloud 15 Minutes’ Tip Sheet!