Tunie Munson-Benson celebrates best bets for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers via The Early Bird Project, featuring print resources and workshops for preschool educators, child care providers and parents:

Learning to read begins in the cradle, not in the classroom. Here are board books to add to booties and buntings in the layette, each title rich in essential elements that ready a little one ultimately to read and succeed.

Moo, Baa, La La La!
written and illustrated by Sandra Boynton
Little Simon, 1982
ISBN 067144901X
Baby to Preschool

Fans of the series that provides "serious silliness for all ages" often cite this board book of Boynton's as a favorite, with its cast of comical critters and the opportunity to mimic what each has to say in the rhyming text.

Goodnight Moon
Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd
HarperFestival, 1991
ISBN 0694003611
Baby to Preschool

The beloved classic which inspired eight pages of analysis (and praise) in Inside Picture Books offers the calming pace, the welcome repetition, and the reassuring rhythms and rhyme that enchant generation after generation of sleepy listeners.

Tomie's Little Mother Goose
written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola
Putnam Pub Group Juv, 1997
ISBN 0399231544
Baby to Preschool

An abbreviated version of dePaola's original volume, this one features a handful of simple nursery rhymes—including Baa Baa Black Sheep; Rain, Rain, Go Away; Pat-a-Cake; and This Little Pig Went to Market—to learn by heart via repeated enjoyable readings. (Jane Dyer's Animal Crackers: Nursery Rhymes is another excellent source in board book format of all-important Mother Goose rhymes.)

Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On
written and illustrated by Lois Ehlhert
Harcourt, 2001
ISBN 015216281X
Baby to Preschool

Gradually shift from a focus with baby on the bright colors and shapes as you demonstrate the conventions of reading and print to simple counting as toddler becomes preschooler and, eventually,include the challenge of simple addition.

Peek-A-Boo!
written and illustrated by Jan Ormerod
Dutton Books, 1998
ISBN 0525459367
Baby to Preschool

By pulling down each sturdy flap, play peek-a-boo with a multicultural mix of friendly babies, each playfully hiding behind various objects in a book that invites interaction, not unlike the series of books by Eric Hill (Where's Spot, et al) and those with textures like Touch and Feel Farm in the Dorling Kindersley series.

Flora McDonnell's ABC
written and illustrated by Flora McDonnell
Candlewick Press, 1997
ISBN 0763601187
Baby to Preschool

McDonnell infuses this classic with humor and pizzazz, providing a low-key introduction to upper and lower case letters as well as characters with personality-plus and objects which adult and baby can identify and savor.

Dinosaur Roar!
Paul and Henrietta Stickland
Puffin, 2002
ISBN 0140568085
Baby to Preschool

Little dinosaur-lovers will savor the humorous depictions of eminently approachable dinos, illustrating opposites in this appealing, rhyming concept book.

Owl Babies
Martin Waddell, illustrated by Patrick Benson
Candlewick Press, 1996
ISBN 1564029654
Baby to Preschool

An award-winning picture book-turned-board book, the reassuring tale reflects little ones' separation anxiety and offers a gentle reminder that Mommy will return.

The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
Rosemary Wells
Scholastic Trade, 1998
ISBN 0590029118
Baby to Preschool

Once the youngest graduate from Wells' version which can be accompanied by song and/or finger play, they can delight in a board book (with the same title) by Iza Trapani who embellishes the familiar tale in ways that prompt shared laughter.

My First Word Board Book
Angela Wilkes
DK, 1997
ISBN 0789415143
Baby to Preschool

Build essential vocabulary by repeatedly pointing to and naming familiar and exotic objects photographed in a version both more durable and more manageable (when sharing with babies) than the larger original edition.