25 Baby’s Best Summer Books: Top Picks For 2024
Here’s our 2021 list, all updated for 2024, of 25 top picks for Baby’s Best Summer Books. Zoo Cloth Book, Curious George, Board Books, Lift-a-Flap and Tactile Books. Enjoy!
You know there are way too many wonderful baby books out there to actually know we have the very best of the best, but we gave it our best shot. And we think we’ve got some of the top of the top. The cream of the crop.
More Book Lists on Kim+INK:
- 10 Classic Baby Books to Begin Your Child’s First Library
- Baby’s First Christmas Books: 10 Sure Favorites
Our Top Summer Book Picks for Baby:
This post contains affiliate links. Click the titles for shopping links.
Baby’s First Cloth Book: Zoo
Nosy Crow (Author), Lisa Jones (Illustrator), Edward Underwood (illustrator)
Cloth book with velcro handle to strap to a stroller, car-seat and more.
Explore the zoo with Baby Boo. Bold images of faces and animals. Simple story filled with first words. Crinkly pages for tiny hands.
Summer Babies
Kathryn O. Galbraith .
Board book.
Babies on the go, having action-filled play in the park on a cheerful summer day.
The story is told with rhyming text and colorful art. Highlights diversity and concepts such as shapes and repetition.
Baby Loves Summer
Karen Katz (author)
Lift the flap book.
Soak up summer with this new Karen Katz book. Life the flaps to find a big yellow sun, flip-flops, ice cream cone, and all the other fun summer stuff.
Sturdy board book with vibrant colors and patterns.
Summer in the Forest
Rusty Finch
Lift the flap pop-up board book.
Learn about summertime in the forest with a bear and her cubs. Bees are buzzing, blueberries are ripe, the pond is cool and the picnic is delicious. And then, a “bear” kind of nap!
Interactive board book with strong flaps, encourages fine motor skills and builds vocabulary.
I See Summer
Charles Ghigna (Author), Agnieszka Malgorzata Jatkowska (Illustrator)
The whole family counts and picks: cucumbers, pea pods, strawberries and more. Hidden numbers on every page give an opportunity to search and learn.
Mouse’s First Summer
Mouse and Minka go for a summer picnic in the park. Roll down the hill on tickly green grass. Fly kites high in the sky. Eat some juicy watermelon. And last of all, before going home, a summer surprise sparkles in the sky.
At The Beach
Your baby will find a red pail, orange starfish, green and purple striped swimsuit and more.
And learn the words as they go through the eye-catching book.
Llama Llama Sand and Sun
Llama Llama splashes in the waves and plays in the sand.
10 pages of interactive elements.
Summer (Seasons)
This series of books celebrates what’s special about every season in the year, wherever you live. In this book, discover summer through indoor and outdoor play.
Sensory and detailed. Perfect introduction to the cycles of the year.
Alphaprints Fun in the Sun
Crabs, elephants and other animals go on vacation and have fun in the sun.
Fun rhymes and textures to feel, plus the unique characters created by adding everyday images to embossed fingerprints.
Little Blue Boat
The Little Blue Boat takes to the high seas. Meet all kinds of ocean animals, including dolphins, seals, otters, sharks and more.
Simple sentences reinforce language structure, grasping flaps develops fine motor skills.
Summer
Gerda Muller (Author).
Chunky Board Book.
Fun, active illustrations show the joys of fishing for tadpoles, playing at the beach, eating ice cream, and enjoying evening picnics.
All About Weather
This book is a little more advanced, ages 3 to 5. Jam packed with weather information on all the seasons. Why clouds form. Why it rains. How rainbows form.
An illustrated guide that provides an extraordinary weather adventure.
Spot Goes to the Beach
Eric Hill (Author, Illustrator).
Board Book.
Spot is ready for fun on this sunny day at the beach. Spot loves to build sandcastles, but this time he wants to try something new. Surfing!
Fun book with bright illustrations.
Little Yellow Bee
Little Yellow Bee takes you on a tour to meet all his garden friends, snails, bunnies, and more.
Flaps are extra strong for tiny fingers with special treats under each flap. Simple sentences reinforce future language structure.
Where is Baby’s Beach Ball?
Where can baby’s beach ball be? Lift all the flaps to find pretty seashells, crawly crabs and more!
An interactive adventure.
Hands Can
Picture Board Book
Hands can do so many things. Rhyming text and colorful photos encourage littles to discover the many things hands can do.
Do Cows Meow?
Lift-the-Flap Board Book
Do cows sing? Do cows cuckoo? All I know is cows go… Moo! Simple fun rhymes in a bright book teach all the animal “talk.” A mouth flap lifts up for each animal. Two barnyard gates at the end open to see and say all the animal sounds again.
Our Top Vintage Summer Books for Baby
Curious George and the Ice Cream Surprise
Curious George needs a way to beat the summer heat. Run through sprinklers, drink lemonade, swim – none help George cool off! What he really needs is a cold treat from the ice cream truck. But can he catch it?
Is It Warm Enough for Ice Cream?
Illustrated Board Book
All the seasons are represented with vibrant outdoor scenes. With the changes in season come changes in weather and new things to do. Windy enough to fly a kite. Rainy enough to splash in puddles. Snowy enough to go sledding. But is it warm enough for ice cream? When we get to summer the answer is yes!
Pop-Up Peek-A-Boo Under the Sea
Lift-the-Flap Board Book
Join Stripy Fish on an underwater adventure. Where are her friends? Inside the treasure chest? Inside the shell? Lift the flaps to meet Diving Dolphin, Ollie Octopus and more.
Rhyming verse, hide and seek surprises and colorful under sea pictures.
Colors With Ladybug
Illustrated Board Book
Follow a little ladybug on a magical adventure. She learns colors with her animal friends.
Fun peep-through cover and tactile glittery finishes on every page inspire interactive learning. Sweet rhyming verse.
The Very Lonely Firefly
Level 2 Board Book
A very lonely firefly goes in search of friends. He finds a lantern, a candle, the eyes of a dog, cat and owl all glowing in the darkness. It is not until he discovers other fireflies that he finds what he’s been looking for. A surprise sure to bring smiles on the final page!
Lush illustrations by the author of A Very Hungry Caterpillar creates another book with his trademark collage art and soothing rhythmic writing. Read it with a flashlight in the dark and watch the fireflies glow!
Our Second to the Top Summer Book Pick
A Ball for Daisy
Hardcover Picture Book. Caldecott Medal Winner
This is a story about love and loss. Daisy’s ball is destroyed by a bigger dog and and child who has had a beloved toy break will relate to the little dog’s anguish. The author’s signature swirling, impressionistic illustrations and almost wordless, affectionate story will appeal to all ages.
Number 1 Top Pick of Baby’s Best Summer Books
Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer
Board Book
Every page (except the last one) opens to a fabric covered spring that looks like a crawling caterpillar. Beautiful story about a caterpillar’s busy day. Then he goes to sleep, and, on the last page, wakes up a butterfly!
We had a super hard time picking our top 25 Baby’s Best Summer Books.
Do you have any you’d add to this list? Or take away?
Pin our list to Pinterest to refer back to it later. When you can’t find this post and you want to buy a book for baby.
