As a new mom, I love gushing about how much our daughter loves books. At 18 months, she willingly sits through a dozen books at a time, and enjoys turning the pages or pointing out details. As you can imagine, this means we go through lots of books multiple times in a week. Here are the top five favorites she’s enjoying in 2023, that also have my stamp of approval as a mom and mental health therapist!
When a Donut Goes to Therapy. How could I not like a cute little book about a donut who goes to therapy when I’m a therapist? With rhyming and adorable illustrations, it captures the nerves of seeing a therapist for the first time, the therapeutic work, and the graduation when therapy is done, which is also an important part of the process. Bonus points for terms and resource written for both youth and parents at the end!
Reverie, I Believe in Me. Gifted to my daughter by a family member, it does double duty of having cute unicorn illustrations and supporting entrepreneurship in women and girls. As a serial entrepreneur myself, I enjoy the messages of 1) try things that bring you joy, and 2) believe in yourself. Putting in the work can have positive results, which rings true for a lot of entrepreneurs starting new projects or innovations. Did I mention it has a female entrepreneurial unicorn? Sold!
Zen Pig: The Art of Gratitude. A cute little free book we got in a bundle, it was published in 2021. The watercolor illustrations are peaceful and the messages of mindfulness and gratitude are conveyed through the rhyming and pacing of the book. My daughter and I are happy to read it over and over because of it’s simplicity and heartfelt message, which comes through clearly without getting lost in being wordy or lengthy.
Made for Me. Selected for Father’s Day, there are several things to love about this book. First, it depicts a larger bodied parent in support of body positivity. Second, it shows a dad as the active and primary parent, possibly a solo parent! Third, the child in the story is gender neutral, which feels intentional and is appreciated by me as a reader. Shout out to the author being a dad of several children, the rhymes and loving illustrations made this book a quick favorite in our household.
How I Met My Monster. I can’t recall who gave us this book, but our daughter gravitated to it once she could turn pages on her own. The clever spin on each kid finding their best fit monster to help them stay in bed and sleep also takes some of the scariness away for kids who might have fears of monsters under their bed at night. As part of a series, I’m looking forward to checking out the other three books. The vibrant colors and fun characters make it a delightful read, with my spouse enjoying this book as much as our daughter thanks to the silly voices I deploy as we read it aloud!
What should we read next? I welcome your recommendations as we continue to devour tons of books with our little, avid reader!