The 9 best Christian books for toddlers (and a giveaway!)
- emilyereineke
- Nov 1
- 9 min read
Updated: Nov 4
You’re not going to find the Beginner’s Bible or any of those '70s cartoon paperbacks here. It’s 2025.
Time to move along.
I consider myself something of an unofficial expert in the field of toddlers, having two of my own and being a former toddler teacher. While the market is flooded with “baby” Bibles and Noah’s ark books, it’s absurdly difficult to find age-appropriate books for toddlers that are also content-appropriate.
Sometimes this is a touchy subject for Lutherans, which I consider myself to be. Hardcore high-church, conservative Lutherans often want to hit everyone over the head with baptism, communion, justification, and the trilogy repeatedly, and occasionally forget that other things might be more important in the foundational years. If you’ve ever taught littles with the One in Christ curriculum, you know what I’m talking about. Ugh.
(Can we get a real preschool teacher to rewrite that?)
I digress.
A note of caution before we begin: I am a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) pastor’s wife, and I do subscribe to the teachings of the LCMS. However, let’s be honest: toddler books coming out of Concordia Publishing House are few and far between, and the ones out there kind of suck. Most of this list is not coming from strictly LCMS writers.
GASP!
Why? Because at this age, we shouldn’t even be worried about most of the stuff that segregates denominations. We’re building a foundational knowledge of God and His character and His loving attitude toward us. And when topics I disagree with come up while reading, I’m secure enough in my faith to appreciate an otherwise really solid book and just tweak a sentence or two while reading aloud to make it better fit my beliefs.
With that said, here we go.
My top 8 Christian books for toddlers, in no particular order, are:
The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones
I love, love, love this children’s Bible. Why is that? I’m glad you asked. Because it’s not just cutesy stories written as isolated incidents with fluffy pictures. Every story explicitly points to Christ and why He had to come. From the Tower of Babel to Paul’s journeys, it makes the Bible flow in a way I’ve never come across before in children's literature. I find it insightful, even as an adult reader. The illustrations are gorgeous and the text is beautifully written. We read one story every night with our three-year-old, and she also loves to just sit and stare at the pictures in her free time. I legitimately used it for religion lessons while teaching, and it was my students’ favorite Bible-style book.
Get it. Get two. Heck, buy them for every pew in your church (I’ve seen it done). It comes in multiple sizes and even a coloring book. Absolutely 10/10.
LCMS note: for independent readers (or if you do buy it for your church), you could X-Acto knife out the story on communion.
Buy here.
Generation Claimed 3-book Series by Emily Assell
These were the first Christian books I read to my girls. They absolutely hit the mark for children aged 0 to 3 years old. The text is repetitive enough to keep a young toddler’s attention, and I love the soft, muted colors chosen in the illustrations. (I’m a beige-era millennial, what can I say?) Each page of each book follows a pattern based on the title to give a godly reminder and backs it up with a verse from Scripture.
For example, from the book entitled Tonight:
“Tonight, my love, you will be at peace and fall fast asleep.
'In peace I will lie down and sleep. Psalm 4:8'"
Each page has a simple, beautiful, heartfelt reminder for kiddos and adults alike. In the newborn days with my second, I would read Tonight and You Are and just weep because I was really reading those Scripture-based reminders to myself. Now my youngest requests these books every night, and I’ll hear my oldest across the hall, listening and repeating the words to herself under her breath like a mantra.
I recently got in touch with the author, Emily Assell, and she was gracious enough to offer a signed book giveaway to my readers! More on that at the end of the post!
Pro tip: There are also free coloring pages based on You Are on the Generation Claimed website!!!
Buy here.
Seek and Find Old/New Testament Bible Stories Series by Sarah Parker
This is a bit of a departure from the standard Christian books that you might have been expecting.
A dear friend gave me the Seek and Find Old Testament Stories book for my oldest's 3rd birthday, and now we never go to worship without it. I have found this to be an incredible on-the-go book, and we've had great conversations at home while working through it, as well. The illustrations are intriguing and allow kids to linger on the story for a bit longer than they normally would during a standard read-aloud. Plus, early preschoolers adore search-and-find books. Win-win.
Buy here:
You Are Special by Max Lucado
Ah, yes, the classic! You didn’t think this would miss my list, did you? Don’t be ridiculous.
If you’ve never read anything by Max Lucado, go to your local library and get reading. He’s amazing. He’s the guy behind The Story Bible retelling, and he has a great handle on the heart of the Scriptures. This beautiful tale is 100% fictional but really gets at the heart of Christian identity.
The story follows a community of wooden people who run around all day giving stickers to one another: dots for insults and stars for praise. When a dot-ridden wooden person comes across a stickerless woman, he's intrigued. He learns that she regularly visits the woodcarver, and that’s why the stickers don’t stick to her. She has daily chats with Eli, the maker, and listens to him more than the other people. Only his (His) words matter.
Another one for all the moms out there to read to themselves.
Buy here.
The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross by Carl Laferton
Another pastor's wife recommended this one to me. At first, I thought it was too simple, but then I realized that the story of creation, sin, and redemption really is a simple one at its core. This short board book boils down the entire story of our salvation into just a few mere pages. The illustrations do a top-notch job of giving the book a mood and tone that can’t be conveyed in words. This book lays a solid foundation for Biblical knowledge before building on with other Bible accounts and lessons. My husband likes to make fun of this book for its simplicity, but I personally love it for that.
Pro tip: this is a great one for the Easter season, especially.
(I also didn't realize until I went looking for an Amazon link that this is part of a series! Can anyone report back on how the other ones are?)
Buy here.
Don't Forget to Remember by Ellie Holcomb
The illustrations alone had me snatching this board book off the shelf at Target faster than I grabbed the last bottle of cold brew. They are absolutely stunning. When I first brought this book out, my daughter made me read it ad nauseam for weeks and weeks before I finally had to put it away to give myself a break. I could repeat the entire thing to you right now. She also loves to gaze at the pictures over and over and over again, noticing new animals on each page and asking me new questions about the illustrations, seeing little details that I hadn’t noticed while I was preoccupied with reading it aloud. Beyond illustrations, the message of this book is incredibly foundational for little kids and adults alike. Don’t forget to remember that God loves you. Because God never forgets you.
Buy here.
God's Always Loving You by Janna Matthies
This question-and-answer style board book is an amazing introduction to thematically Christian stories; stories that aren’t necessarily retelling an account from the Bible, but are teaching a Christian truth. Each page features a question that is answered with, "God, that’s who." That form alone probably would’ve landed this book on my list. Why? As much as we might like to tease the Sunday school answer of "Jesus!" in Bible studies, it's usually the right answer. My heart soared as my daughter started answering the questions for me, recognizing the pattern of the book. Hearing her little voice say, "God, that’s who" nearly left me in a puddle of tears.
God's Always Loving You deals with real-world problems for little kids, but it is also valuable because it shows how God uses people to answer prayer. Sometimes, even as an adult, I wonder where God is in my life and how He's moving, and oftentimes my husband reminds me that He likes to work through the people that He created. This sweet board book doesn't display Jesus in some mystical glory cloud in the background; it shows that others are filling our needs by God's leading. I wish I had been told as a kid that that’s how God works, too.
Buy here.
All The Things I Say To God
Teaching a kid to pray is a lot harder than you'd think. But it’s also a lot easier than you'd think. I realized very quickly that my three-year-old thought that praying meant only using scripted prayers and could only be done by Mom or Dad. How do you exit that cycle? How do you teach her that she can pray anywhere, anytime? It’s not actually as easy as I thought. So when Tanner came out with this book, I was elated. I’ve never heard him speak to very young kids before, but I snapped up the book anyway as soon as it was out on Amazon, and I have no regrets. It’s a little bit long for toddlers, so maybe pull it out when they’re getting closer to the preschool years, but I love the story here. It’s basically a little girl asking her mom about prayer: when can she pray, how can she pray, and what can she pray for? It finishes with the little girl praying for and about her mom. Cue the tears.
LCMS note: Tanner Olson is a well-known poet in the LCMS world. He has even spoken at the National Youth Gathering. This is his first children's book.
Buy here.
Twirl by Emily Lex
I almost didn’t want to list this one because I’m sick and tired of reading it (for all the best reasons). It’s a tad more wordy than my preferred writing style, but my 3-year-old (who is very much in the tutu/twirling stage) can’t get enough of it. I finally recorded myself reading it and put it on a Yoto player card for her for the times when I just can’t read it again.
My own book exhaustion aside, it’s a sweet story about being made unique, designed especially for little girls. I personally love the sweet watercolor illustrations. I believe there’s a boys' version called Build, too.
Buy here.
*Bonus Audio”book”: Big Bible Stories for Little Hearts by Chrissy Peterson and Joy Hanna
My daughters are obsessed. I'm fairly certain my oldest is trying to memorize these stories. She will pick these stories over her Daniel Tiger Yoto card, and that’s a pretty big deal in our house.
While not "books" per se, these audio tracks are designed for ages 1-9 (who else does that?!) and really hit the mark. Each story is told in 3 minutes or less, followed by a quick application sentence or two. It is beautifully produced with friendly voices and on-point retellings of the Biblical accounts. So far, we've got the Old & New Testament collections, but there's also a Christmas story download we might have to get this year!
These are great for quiet times to play on your phone/bluetooth speaker, or if you're a Yoto Player owner, Big Bible Stories for Little Hearts are made on Yoto cards (no make-your-own necessary!). My oldest has the cards and loves listening while she draws or winds down. We also listen to the collections in the car frequently. If I were still teaching, I'd play these at nap time for sure.
Buy audio downloads and Yoto cards here.
What are your favorites? Any I missed? Drop a comment below!
Happy reading!
Love,
The Pastor's Wife
Note: If you use the links listed for purchases, I earn a tiny commission at no cost to you. That being said, I reached out to the publishers asking for a commission, not the other way around! These are books I love, my own thoughts, and I just happen to make a little bit of money from them for a latte here and there. It’s a great way to support this blog and my family! Thanks!
Emily Assell Giveaway!
Enter below to be entered to win a signed copy of the Generation Claimed 3-Book Series and her devotional for moms: Wherever You Are!
The deadline to enter is November 15 at 11:59pm EST. The winner will be announced and contacted via email on November 18.
Fill out the form below to be entered to win, and check your email on November 18 (and spam folder, just in case!) for the winner announcement email.
Winners will be chosen by a randomized name draw. No purchase necessary. The winner will have 48 hours from the email send time on November 18 to claim their prize, and if the prize is unclaimed after 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen by random draw.
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