Recommended reading for the first three years of your child's life, the Books to Grow On series comprises book lists compiled by the librarian members of the American Library Association-Children's Book Council Joint Committee from April 2003. The book lists are divided into the following age brackets:

0 - 6 MONTHS
Explores the world through the senses-in relation to books, use of seeing faces and objects and hearing sounds.
All Fall Down. Oxenbury, Helen. Little Simon, 1999
Animal Crackers: Bedtime. Dyer, Jane. Little, Brown, 1998
Baby Animals: Black and White. Tildes, Phyllis L. Charlesbridge, 1998
Baby Rock, Baby Roll. Blackstone, Stella. Illustrated by Denise and Fernando Azedo. Holiday House, 1997
Big Fat Hen. Baker, Keith. Harcourt, 1994
Black on White. Hoban, Tana. Greenwillow, 1993
Blue Hat, Green Hat. Boynton, Sandra. Little Simon, 1984
How Baby Grows. Buck, Nola. HarperCollins, 1998
I Love Colors. Miller, Margaret. Simon & Schuster, 1999
Max. Wilson-Max, Ken. Jump at the Sun, 1998
My First Baby Games. Manning, Jane. HarperCollins, 2001
My Very First Mother Goose. Opie, Iona, ed. Illustrated by Rosemary Wells. Candlewick, 1996
Peek-A-Boo! Ahlberg, Janet and Allen Ahlberg. Viking, 1990
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6 - 12 MONTHS
Increasing exploration with hands-able to reach for books, touch and feel pictures; prefers pictures of faces, begins to vocalize.
Animal Kisses. Saltzberg, Barney. Red Wagon, 2000
Baby's Lap Book. Chorao, Kay. Dutton, 1991
Brown Sugar Babies. Smith, Charles. Jump at the Sun, 2000
Goodnight Moon. Brown, Margaret Wise. HarperCollins, 1947
I Can. Oxenbury, Helen. Candlewick, 1995
I Smell Honey. Pinkney, Andrea. Illustrated by Brian J. Pinkney. Red Wagon, 1997
Maybe, My Baby. O'Book, Irene. Illustrated by Paula Tible. HarperCollins, 1998
My Colors (Mis Colores). Emberly, Rebecca. Little, Brown, 2000
Red, Blue, Yellow Shoe. Hoban, Tana. Greenwillow, 1986
Time For Bed. Fox, Mem. Illustrated by Jane Dyer. Harcourt, 1993
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Winter, Jeanette. Red Wagon, 2000
Welcome, baby! Baby Rhymes for Baby Times. Calmenson, Stephanie. HarperCollins, 2002
Where's the Baby? Paxton, Tom. Illustrated by Mark Graham. Morrow Avon, 1993
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12 - 18 MONTHS
Able to hold a book with help, turn pages, point at pictures, and make sounds for a particular picture.
The Bear Went Over the Mountain. Wells, Rosemary. Scholastic, 1998
Big Dog, Little Dog. Pilkey, Dav. Harcourt, 1997
Count with Maisy. Cousins, Lucy. Candlewick, 1997
Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z. Ehlert, Lois. Harcourt, 1989
The Everything Book. Fleming, Denise. Henry Holt, 2000
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. Christelow, Eileen. Clarion, 1989
Freight Train. Crews, Donald. Greenwillow, 1978
Itsy Bitsy Spider. Wells, Rosemary. Scholastic, 1998
Jamberry. Degen, Bruce. HarperCollins, 1992
My First Action Rhymes. Pictures by Lynne Cravath. HarperCollins, 2000
Rabbit's Bedtime. Wallace, Nancy Elizabeth. Houghton Mifflin, 1999
Read to Your Bunny. Wells, Rosemary. Scholastic, 1997
Sheep in a Jeep. Shaw, Nancy. Illustrated by Margot Apple. Houghton Mifflin, 1986
Ten, Nine, Eight. Bang, Molly Garrett. Greenwillow, 1983
Tom and Pippo Read a Story. Oxenbury, Helen. Simon & Schuster, 1998
Where is My Baby? Ziefert, Harriet and Simms Taback. Handprint, 2002
Where's Spot? Hill, Eric. G.P. Putnam, 1980
You Are My Perfect Baby. Thomas, Joyce Carol. Photos by Nneka Bennett. Joanna Cotler, 1999
Zoom City. Hurd, Thatcher. Harper Collins, 1998
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18 MONTHS - 3 YEARS
Able to name familiar pictures, turn one page at a time, and carry a book around the house. Able to concentrate on simple stories, but still needs a great deal of one-on-one interaction and physical activity.
Be Gentle! Miller, Virginia. Candlewick, 1999
Book! George, Kristine O'Connell. Illustrated by Maggie Smith. Clarion, 2001
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Martin, Bill Jr. and Eric Carle. Henry Holt, 1992
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Martin, Bill Jr. and John Archambault. Illustrated by Lois Ehlert. Little Simon, 1989
Color Zoo. Ehlert, Lois. HarperCollins, 1989
Come Along, Daisy! Simmons, Jane. Little Brown, 1998
Construction Zone. Hoban, Tana. Greenwillow, 1997
Dinosaur Roar! Strickland, Paul and Henrietta Strickland. Dutton, 1994
Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs. Barton, Byron. HarperCollins, 1989
Hello Lulu. Uff, Caroline. Walker, 1999
How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? Yolen, Jane. Illustrated by Mark Teague. Blue Sky, 2000
In the Tall, Tall Grass. Fleming, Denise. Henry Holt, 1999
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? Carlstrom, Nancy White. Illustrated by Bruce Degen. Simon & Schuster, 1986
Little White Duck. Zaritsky, Bernard and Walt Whippo. Little, Brown, 2000
Maisy's ABC. Cousins, Lucy. Candlewick, 1995
Max's First Word. Wells, Rosemary. Dial, 1998
"More More More," Said the Baby. Williams, Vera. Greenwillow, 1990
Mouse Mess. Riley, Linnea A. Scholastic, 1997
On Mother's Lap. Scott, Ann Herbert. Clarion, 1992
Silly Little Goose! Tafuri, Nancy. Scholastic, 2001
The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Potter, Beatrix. Warne, 1999
The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Carle, Eric. Philomel, 1981
The Wheels on the Bus. Raffi. Illustrated by Sylvie K. Wickstrom. Random House, 1998
You're Just What I Need. Krauss, Ruth. Illustrated by Julia Noonan. HarperCollins, 1998
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