2026 Blogging A to Z Challenge: Quiet Time
While the letter “Q” is usually really hard to figure out for the 2026 Blogging A to Z Challenge, this year the letter “Q” was really easy – quiet time! And I know there are plenty of times throughout the day to add a few extra snuggles and a couple of minutes to read a book, especially a board book – you only need a minute or two!
So whether your baby’s quiet time is before nap time or bedtime, or just some snuggly time throughout the day, these nine board books offer you a chance to experience books together with fun, engaging photographs and illustrations, plus simple text for little ones as you read or sing along! So, make sure you have a stack of board books next to the rocker, sofa, comfy chair, wherever you can to add a little more reading into your everyday life!
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2026 Blogging A to Z Challenge: Quiet Time
Day in the Forest by Alexandra Claire
From the first light of dawn to the calm of evening, children will follow along with playful woodland critters—foxes, squirrels, rabbits, bears, and more—on their daily adventures. With vibrant, full-color images and sweet, rhythmic rhymes, this beautifully crafted book captures the magic of the forest and its lively inhabitants, making it a perfect addition to your child’s bedtime routine.
Five Speckled Frogs by Yu-hsuan Huang
Count down the colorful frogs sitting on a log, five to zero, in this interactive board book based on the beloved children’s song. A QR code links to both instrumental and vocal versions of the song. Simply scan the code to listen and sing along—Ribbit! Ribbit! Ribbit!
Let’s Find Yaya & Boo: On the Go! by Andrew Knapp
Is that Yaya taking a ride on a fire truck, or Boo hiding in a boat? Can you spot the dogs taking a bus ride to school, or checking out a construction site? Learn new words by finding twelve exciting vehicles and fun objects in each scene as you play hide-and-seek with Yaya and Boo all over town!
Little Lion, Where Are You? by Ekaterina Trukhan
One thing is for sure— babies love mirrors! Peek behind durable card flaps featuring friendly animals to find yourself and your baby in four hidden mirrors. The large card flaps are easy for even the littlest hands to grab, and babies reach for these books again and again!
Love You Head to Toe by Ashley Barron
Pairing creative rhyming similes with cut-paper collage art, Love You Head to Toe is an adorable book that compares newborn babies to baby animals on every page. Bright, playful illustrations show a different baby and a different species of animal, both engaged in similar behavior: babies stretch their limbs like sea stars, splash in the water like ducklings, toddle around like bear cubs, and fill their chubby cheeks like chipmunks.
Action verbs on each page give the book energy and movement and reflect the varied activities of a baby’s day, with key elements like mealtime, bath time, and bedtime in chronological order. Babies and caregivers of a wide range of ethnicities are represented in this heartwarming read-aloud designed to show little ones how much they are cherished and loved.
Miro I Look by Gavin Bishop
Labels give the Spanish and English words for what we see–colors, shapes, eyes, ears, nose, hair–and there are more connections to find in every illustration pair.
Words and images are chosen to include the unexpected and imaginative alongside the obvious, making this more than just a first-words book. This is a bilingual book for adult reader and child to learn and explore together–to ask questions, point, and talk–or to enjoy quietly alone.
Nosy! by Seymour Chwast
Do you know anyone who has a love-hate relationship with their nose? Join artist Seymour Chwast as he gets Nosy about one of the most obvious yet oft-maligned facial features with this illustrated-nonfiction board book that manages to be both affirming and gently humorous. “Whatever the shape or size, all noses are good.” The tell-tale shape of the book will also invite interactions beyond reading or listening, perhaps encouraging #bookface enthusiasts to sample a new profile.
Who Ate the Little Bug? by Hector Dexet
Who has eaten the little bug? A gallery of animals all deny their involvement. Was it the polar bear? The pelican? The lion? The snail? Each spread features a different brightly-colored animal and a fun die cut that gets smaller and smaller as the story goes on. Little hands will love this vibrant and engaging read with a delightful twist at the end.
Your Farm by Jon Klassen
This is your sun.
It is coming up for you.
This is your tree.
It can go under the sun.
With a minimal tableau of familiar objects and a gentle rhythm suited for reading aloud, a farm and all its items—a horse and its hay, a truck, a stool, a fence—are assembled, ending with bedtime as the sun goes down. This is a farm for a young child to have whenever they want to go there. One in a trio of board books focusing on safe spaces, comfort, and imagination, Your Farm signals both a departure for Jon Klassen and a story whose peculiar touches of whimsy stamp the book as iconically his.
2026 is my eleventh year participating in the Blogging A to Z Challenge! This year, my theme is Board Books for Babies with a focus on providing book suggestions that parents and caregivers can share with, of course, babies, but also toddlers and preschoolers! Each letter of the alphabet will focus on a different subject and will provide nine titles for each subject. While there are dozens of classic board books out there, this list includes titles published in the past 5-6 years, so you’ll get to learn about new titles, authors, and publishers! Stop by daily to check out the new books and other posts that I’ll be sharing in April.
