30 Best Rhyming Books for 2-Year-Olds

You got your baby hooked on rhyming books (good job mama), and now they’re turning two and are ready for some new reading material.

Rhyming books hold a special ability to capture the attention of our youngest readers which gives them a special place on our bookshelf. 

Rhyming before Reading

Rhyming is a pre-reading skill. Reading with your 2-year-old is still about connection and helping them to love reading. 

But familiarity with rhyming will help with decoding words in a few years’ time. It’ll set them up for making letter sounds and blending them together, as an example. Being able to isolate the sounds of letters will help pre-readers later be able to blend letter sounds for reading later. 

Making letter sounds is basically what rhyming is. It is finding a sound (at the end of a word) and recreating it by changing the beginning of the word to make words rhyme.

With a strong foundation in rhyming, hearing the sounds the letters make will connect more to your 5, 6, or 7-year-old’s experience. 

By the time kids turn 3 they are usually able to recognize rhyming and join in on rhyming games. Reading rhyming books is a great foundation for hearing words and letters as sounds or a combination of sounds. 

Without further ado, here is a list of 30 rhyming books to add to your 2-year-old’s library.

Also in this series: 15 Best Rhyming Books for Babies (Ages 0-1)

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1. Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey

Pig the Pug is a book about friendship and learning to share. It’s perfect for reading expressively and for getting laughs.

The book includes charming and funny illustrations – it’s an all-around ideal book for 2s.

2. A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson

Wilson is truly masterful with rhyme.

She wrote the books in the Bear Snores On series, and I can’t say enough great things about her work.

A Frog in the Bog is a fun book with good rhythmic metre.

3. Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Llama Llama Red Pajama has been a favorite with all my kiddos, and honestly, it’s one of my top 5 easily, too.

There are so many relatable lines to repeat in daily life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used the lines, “Llama Llama, don’t you know, Mama Llama loves you so.”

Also, “Please stop all this Llama drama and be patient for your mama.”

And, “Mama Llama’s always near, even if she’s not right here.” Such a great one.

4. Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss

Did Dr. Seuss invent rhyming books? He certainly has created some classics!

A list of rhyming books for 2s would be lacking if the good doctor wasn’t on it.

At this age, this length of Cat in the Hat may be a challenge for one sitting, but it has such simple relatable rhyming that it’s a fun place to start getting kids to rhyme on their own.

5. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss 

I love the book Green Eggs and Ham to talk about trying new things – especially food.

“I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam I am!”

It’s a way to connect that picky eating thing to giving those peas a try because you might really like them.

“I do like them, Sam I am, I do like green eggs and ham!”

Another great book with simple rhyming from Dr. Seuss. A classic that you’ll come back to many times over.

6. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr Seuss

I could list so many Dr. Seuss books but these three feel, to me at least, like the most classic of the classics.

Maybe it’s just what I grew up with.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue is a very Seuss-world book with words that rhyme, words that describe, words that are opposites, and words that are made up.

It’s almost like Dr. Seuss and the Mad Hatter from Wonderland are related. Silly nonsense, perfect for 2s.

7. I Am a Big Sister/Brother by Caroline Jayne Church

Siblings that are two to three years apart seem to be… prevalent. I’m not saying you’ll have another baby this year, making your 2-year-old a big brother or sister, but it’s possible.

I Am a Big Brother (and its Sister companion) is a book that’s just an ideal book for getting ready for that transition of “baby of the family” to “big brother/sister” role.

A great conversation starter for all the changes ahead. And if you’re more of a 4-5 year gap between kids, file this book recommendation away for a while.

8. Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

Big Red Barn is a really lovely book about animals on a farm, and it’s complete with animal sounds and animal words.

I love the illustrations in this book too; simplistic but on the realistic side. Brown also wrote Goodnight Moon which your 2s may still really love.

9. Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Reese

Gerald the giraffe, can’t dance. The other animals he meets at the special dance, can.

He starts to believe what the other animals think of him but then… well, you’ll have to read it.

Giraffes Can’t Dance is one of those modern classics that this two-year-old generation will all remember into adulthood.

10. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

I love The Gruffalo, because it’s a bit of a longer narrative book but not long enough to lose our 2-year-olds and their attention spans.

A little clever mouse with a big imagination works his way through a lot of animals in the forest who want to eat him for a snack. It’s working great and then, his imagination comes to life.

11. Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Each Peach Pear Plum masterfully pairs two unrelated nursery rhymes together with illustrations and rhyming words.

If your little one is familiar with some nursery rhymes this will be especially entertaining. The illustrations are also delightful.

12. Little Raindrop by Melanie Joyce

I love Little Raindrop because it tells a story, has a narrative arc, but illustrates and discusses the water cycle with accuracy.

It’s definitely science on the level of a 2-year-old, and I just can’t get over what an excellent foundation it creates for kids.

The illustrations are bright and fun, easy to follow, and engaging.

13. Duck in the Truck by Jez Alborough

“This is the duck driving home in a truck. This is the track that’s taking him back.” 

Duck in the Truck is a book that rhymes to the extreme. This is a book that reads like a dream. 

It’s fun, it flows, and it tells a story that seems to give a nod to Sheep in a Jeep. It shows some teamwork and cause and effect. 

14. Sheep Out to Eat by Nancy Shaw

The sheep in Sheep Out to Eat go to a restaurant for tea and cake.

You can imagine how that goes since these are the same sheep that rolled their jeep down a steep hill, into a mud puddle, into a tree, and eventually had to sweep the jeep up into a heap.

Shaw does an excellent job of not wasting any words to tell simple stories with perfect detail. I love all the books in this sheep series.

15. Hippos Go Berserk! by Sandra Boynton

Hippos Go Berserk! is one of my favorite Boynton books! We fly through these pages, and the counting aspect adds those math concepts in a very accessible way.

Sometimes, we read it quickly to appreciate the rhyming that spans several pages and other times, we read it slowly to practice counting how many hippos are on the page.

It’s a perfect rhyming book for age 2!

16. Over in the Meadow Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats

Over in the Meadow is a beautiful classic. I like Ezra Jack Keats illustrated book, it’s really vivid and beautiful.

This is one of those books that you’ll reach for again and again. The rhyming is really effortless and has a great cadence. 

17. Five Little Ducks by Raffi

I always break into song when reading Five Little Ducks. I sang this book to my two toddlers last night and they instantly joined in. It was a super sweet moment and I’m going to tear up just writing about it!

“Five little ducks went swimming one day! Over the hill and far away! Mother duck said QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK….”

It’s a crowd-pleaser for us. Easy for littles to remember and recite/sing along with.

18. Making Muffins from Lovevery

The book Making Muffins, available from Lovevery, is a great rhyming book to practice counting.

My kiddos love that it has lift-the-flap features to reveal what exactly you’re counting while following a muffin recipe.

I also love that the Lovevery books show pictures of real kids, which is a Montessori-aligned concept.

Related: 50+ Best Montessori Books for Babies and Toddlers (Ages 0-4)

19. Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas

Rhyming Dust Bunnies is a fun introduction to rhyming – what is it, how it works, and how to do it.

Kids will begin to see the most simple rhymes that they can play along with too, in time. It also has a funny little twist on a great level for 2s.

20. Oi Dog by Kes and Claire Gray and Jim Field

Oi Dog is a funny rhyming book with lots of simple rhyming phrases about different animals and all the things they’ll sit on.

Dogs sit on Frogs, Cats sit on mats, Whales sit on nails.

The illustrations are also really bright and colorful and great visuals for describing the text.

21. You’re My Little Baby by Eric Carle

In true Eric Carle fashion, You’re My Little Baby is the essence of simplicity.

The pictures, the concise rhyming words.

It’s also a Touch and Feel book which is intriguing for this age group and draws in the reader who is most definitely a “touch and feeler” at two.

22. Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

If your little one enjoys Dr. Seuss books, Put Me in the Zoo is an obvious next choice.

This one is a cute story about an animal with special talents who thinks he wants to be in the zoo but finds a better fit in another niche market.

23. You’re My Little Cuddle Bug by Nicola Edwards

You’re My Little Cuddle Bug is a rhyming book that reads like poetry.

Its peep-through pages also create an extra level of interest that helps capture attention and curiosity. A sweet little book for a read and a cuddle.

24. Baby Beluga by Raffi, illustrated by Ashley Wolff

Baby Beluga is fun because it’s a song; you can sing it or read it.

The illustrations are also bold and really nicely done – while animated, it’s realism creates depth and a richness to the pictures.

25. The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman

The Best Nest is a story about Mr. and Mrs. Bird who go searching for a place to build their nest.

It’s a nice narrative with rhyming sprinkled in.

26. The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky

In The Terrible Plop, a “Plop” is after the animals that live around the pond.

At least, that’s the sound this terrible creature makes.

After causing a lot of unsettling about this critter making such a terrible plop the animals find someone with a voice of reason, someone brave who can face such a Plop, or, have they?

27. Woodland Dance by Sandra Boynton

Woodland Dance is especially exciting to me because of its vocabulary.

I’m such a believer in using “big” words with our kids and feel they learn so well by picking it up from us.

To name a few of the words that catch my attention in this book: commotion, burrow, hideout, nest, moonlight, forest, clearing, cello, violin, pivot, prance, sunrise, trio, and serenade.

28. Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker

The modern classic Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site is a neat perspective for littles to glimpse different construction vehicles and their jobs.

I love that it’s a nighttime book but it can really be read any time of day, of course.

29. The Little Blue Cottage by Kelly Jordan

The Little Blue Cottage is a sweet book about seasons and growing up. This one rhymes in a loose way but tells such a good story that I included it in the list.

A little girl visits the cottage, a vacation home, with her family every year. The cottage, personified, looks forward to the little girl coming every year.

Time passes, the little girl grows up, it seems the cottage will be lost and lonely forever, and then life comes full circle. Like it does.

30. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Lucille Colandro

I like this version’s edit of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly from the original language of “there was an old lady who swallowed a fly, perhaps she’ll die” with, “there was an old lady who swallowed a fly, she won’t say why.”

It’s a subtle change but I found my littles were more concerned when death was a possibility and it’s more playful and silly when she just won’t say why she did a silly thing like swallow a bug.

Ready, Set, Rhyme

My two-year-olds have always had a knack for bringing me books to read to them. It seems to be a magical age where they start to really have favorite books and love, more than ever before in their short lives, being read to. 

I hope these books provide you with a refresh for your at-home library – or a new list of books to pick up from your local one!

More book guides:

• Are The Lovevery Book Bundles Worth It? [Unsponsored Review]
• 25 Best Toddler Easter Books
• The Best Gift Ideas for Book Lovers & Bookworms