The Best and Most Giftable Board Books of 2022
Board books are geared towards babies through toddlerhood, but can be enjoyed by any child they captivate—here are our best of the year that we think would be great to gift to kids and families. I mentioned some of these when I visited Iowa Public Radio, but some are Off the Leash Exclusives. Coming soon I will also be posting our favorite picture books, early reader, and middle grade titles—but without further ado, the best board books of 2022.
Eric Hill’s Where’s Spot? revolutionized board books with the invention of “lift-the-flap” in 1980, using simple paper flaps to conceal, then reveal, surprise images, delighting young readers, including baby Amanda, who ADORED Spot (maybe leading to my later-in-life dog obsession? The world will never know). But novelty elements, be it a new texture, a moving part or other element of unique construction, engage the youngest readers, making “reading” something exciting and something more likely to entertain them for a lifetime. Thus, novelty is what I’m looking for in an excellent board book, and, boy, do they abound this year!
Crinkle, Crinkle, Little Car and Crinkle Bells, written and illustrated by Jay Fleck
The iridescent “crinkle” paper Jack Fleck has used to illustrated his adorable orange little car, as well as the yellow bells in his holiday edition, Crinkle Bells, offer babies and toddlers a delightfully additive interactive material to run their adorable chubby hands over as their adults read aloud intelligently reimagined versions of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and “Jingle Bells.” In Crinkle, Crinkle, Little Car, the noisy little car is zooming through the heavens keeping the stars and planets awake. Each time the car is depicted, on the cover and on every page spread, the vehicle’s body is coated in this shiny, crinkly material. The Crinkle Bells, meanwhile, are keeping all the other ornaments awake, who rather go to sleep to hasten Santa’s arrival and Christmas Day
Made with Love: Pizza!, written by Lea Redmond and illustrated by Flora Waycott
The Made with Love food series (Made with Love: Pancakes! and Made with Love: Donuts!) has been a favorite in our store since the moment we opened. Each chunky, durable board book is cut in a clever round shape, with pages revealing the various toppings add to the titular food item: syrup, whipped cream, berries, etc., on the pancakes; frosting, sprinkles, coconut, and more on the donuts. In Pizza, little readers are walked through the steps of rolling to dough, adding the sauce, topping with cheese, and then adding an abundance of ingredients. Each subsequent ingredient is hinted at on the preceding page, making the book’s reading a fun guessing game. Like it’s predecessors, Pizza concludes that the most important ingredient is love, added on top, then served to share with everyone. The book’s unique shape and tasty and realistic illustrations are sure to make this a book that will stick with them as long as Where’s Spot stuck with this 40-year-old.
Roar! I’m a Dinosaur! and Oink! I’m a Pig! written and illustrated by Merrill Rainey
There’s nothing like a dinosaur obsessed kid, and this cool oversized board book is right up their alley. The book’s die-cut circles allow young readers to hold the book up to their face, thus becoming the pictured stegosaurus, T. rex, or pterodactyl. The verses smartly rhyme and offer tidbits of information unique to each dinosaur variety. Oink! I’m a Pig offers a similar format for our favorite farm friends, from roosters to the “yeee-hawing” farmer.
Dino Train, written by Christopher Robbins and illustrated by Susanna Covelli
This is a NEXT LEVEL dinosaur board book, bound together by velcro but designed as a train that stretches 56 inches when fully unfolded. One side of the super-long train teaches dinosaur names A-Z, with special details offers about each dinosaur variety. For instance, an iguanodon is “always thumbs up” and a parasaurolophuys’ nose can grown over six feet long. The book is packed with details – the wheels of the train contain illustrations of the individual dinosaur species’ footprints, and the backside of the train places the dinosaurs along a timeline indicating the eras in which they lived. A dinosaur nerd would geek out over this book for years!
Two Dogs on a Trike, written by Gabi Snyder and illustrated by Robin Rosenthal
Counting books are a dime a dozen, but Gabi Snyder’s amusing plot paired with Robin Rosenthal’s sneaking illustrations, make this board book something special. One dog standing alone hitches a ride with a poodle on a trike, making two. But observant readers will spy a cat in hot pursuit of the duo. The dog gang increases page by page, adopting increasingly larger modes of transportation: scooter, bike, trolley, train, ferry, plane, and hot-air balloon. But when they find themselves in a spaceship far from Earth, what we expect to be 10 dogs is 9 dogs and a hissing cat, forcing the group to abort their mission. Once the dogs are returned to their proper homes, the sneaky cat grabs another feline friend for a two-cat trike ride – but watch out! A sneaky mouse on a skateboard in in pursuit. Snyder’s scenarios are hilarious and I love Rosenthal’s fresh, bold art.
Little Treasures written by Jacqueline Ogburn and illustrated by Chris Raschka
I adore Caldecott-winning artist Chris Raschka’s unmistakable, chaotic, and colorful illustrations, so I was thrilled to discover this beautiful board book collaboration with author Jacqueline Ogburn. Together, they’ve compiled many of the world’s terms of endearment for children. Each page features a different language (14 languages represented in total) with accompanying English translations, the terms of endearment in their original language and original alphabet, where appropriate, plus helpful phonetic guides. Raschka’s illustrations of beloved children are splendidly unique, and children are sure to find these international terms of endearment amusing. Who knew the French commonly affectionately refer to their sweet little ones as “my flea?” The councluding message is most profound, however: “All over the world, families love their children very much and call them sweet names. Whether they say “sweetie pie,” “mera chanda,” or “angelito,” they all mean the same thing: ‘I love you, child.’” This would be the perfect gift for a new baby.
DJ Baby written by DJ Burton and illustrated by Andy J. Pizza
For music-loving families and dance-loving babies, DJ Baby is the perfect new board book. Andy J. Pizza is the artist behind a recent favorite picture book, Pizza with Everything on It – his images bring to mind great street-art murals. The board book is brilliantly built with a two-record turntable, allowing young readers to “mix” their own beat on each page. Text makes plays on well known lyrics and dance moves, encouraging you to blast the sound system and bust out a dance party before sending you little one off to bed.
Big Green Garage, written by Jen Arena and illustrated by Mike Dutton
I didn’t understand the vehicle obsession some kids have until my nephew, William, was seemingly born making vroom, vroom noises and had a fascination with watching wheels move and dump trucks dump. Big Green Garage is the book for vehicle lovers, with countless moving parts and lift-the-flaps to explore. Lift the cover’s green garage door, and walk on in to explore the mechanics’ workspace: work benches filled with tools, hydraulic jacks, air pumps, wrenches. Readers use the tools to change oil and plugs, fill tires, change batteries, top off fluids and take the fixed up vehicle for a spin to make sure everything’s set straight. The rhyming text is fun to read, a busy hands have plenty to play with.
Eat Together, written and illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez
Just as he did with his innovative book Get Together, Miguel Ordóñez uses mixed up geometric shapes to create a guessing game as to what object can be formed when they “get together.” Eat Together is food themed, with increasingly numerous shapes combining to form familiar delicacies: cupcakes, burgers, turkey dinners, and pizza slices. The twist? Each food items is carried off by an ant but those snacks and meals won’t fit down the ant hole without being broken back down into a total of 33 shapes that, mixed together, form a delicious feast for the ants. This book is art for the child’s eye, offering a guessing game and an original surprise ending. Ordóñez knows how to to have fun with shape and color, for sure!
