Post Summary: 15 fun and engaging camping books for toddlers that will get them prepared and excited for your next camping trip.
If you’re taking the leap and going on your first camping trip with young kids, there’s no better way to prepare them than great camping books for toddlers. Yes, you can talk about it with them and get them involved in the preparation (a great idea as well!) but there’s something very magical and stimulating to their young minds when you introduce the adventure of camping through vivid storytelling and colorful illustrations.
A month before we took off on our two-week camping trip with our three year old we started to introduce camping books for preschool-aged kids to not only ease him into the experience but also to get him excited about the unique trip we were about to take. It worked out so well that he kept on asking, “When are we going camping?” Ha! Maybe we prepared him a little too far in advance.
I’ve compiled a list of 15 fantastic camping books for toddlers that range from simple picture books to more complex storytelling and imagery. Some of the books are right on the nose, and others are broader in their scope and include hiking and a love of the outdoors. I’ve tried to include books that are inclusive and diverse, but it’s not always easy to find. If you know of any great camping books for preschoolers that offer more diverse perspectives, let me know in the comments at the end of the blog post. I would love to learn about them!
Lastly, all of these books are available on Amazon but don’t forget you can always go to your local library to borrow books for FREE. We chose to buy a couple of books we would want to keep, and the rest we checked out from our library.
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20 Fun + Creative Toddler Camping Toys that Will Keep Your Toddler Happy and Tantrum Free
Our Top Picks For Best Camping Books For Toddlers
Pete The Cat Goes Camping (Simplest)
Three Days on A River With A Red Canoe (Best storyline)
S is For S’mores (Best for growing with them)
15 Camping Books For Toddlers
1. Pete The Cat Goes Camping
Our son is a big fan of Pete The Cat. Maybe it’s the bright colors, silly-looking Pete, or because we have a cat ourselves, but regardless, he LOVES anything Pete The Cat. This is a simple book about Pete going camping with his family and touches on camping adventures like fishing, hiking, and eating s’mores. It does include Big Foot as a real character, so if you have a toddler that scares easily, they may be frightened by that concept.
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2. Curious George Goes Camping
How can you not love the shenanigans of Curious George? A great book from a classic series, Curious George Goes Camping, has George going on a camping trip with the man in the yellow hat. Sure enough, hijinks ensue when George gets curious and runs into the woods. While it’s mostly a fun and simple story, it does include a little tidbit on fire safety.
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3. Maisy Goes Camping
This is probably the simplest of all the books, and I would recommend it most for younger toddlers. It’s short, and most of the storyline revolves around the characters trying to fit in the tent. It’s a charming book that won’t give an in-depth introduction to camping, but will lightly present camping in a fun, silly tone.
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4. Angelina and Henry
This is a sweet book that follows the heroine of the series, Angeline, and her cousin Henry as they go camping and wander off into the woods. Together, they get lost in a thunderstorm, but with Angeline’s bravery and pluck, they find their way back to camp. Perfect for anyone wanting a female protagonist.
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5. Oliver & Hope’s Adventure Under the Stars
Oliver & Hope’s Adventure Under The Stars is an imaginative book about four friends and their fun adventures while camping. This book is a beautiful way to introduce the imagery of camping while not hitting them over the head with the nuts and bolts of camping. Rather, it introduces camping themes like playing with shadows, being afraid of the dark, stargazing, s’mores, and sleeping in tents.
A bonus of this book is that the proceeds from the book go towards helping children “gain access to medically-related services that are not covered, or not fully covered, by their family’s commercial health insurance plan.”
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6. Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe
This beautiful book comes with lovely illustrations and a fun storyline that follows a child’s journal of a three-day canoe and camping trip. The length and content are more complex than previous books, but it’s a book that can grow with your children. It’s also a great choice if you’ll be doing any water activity like kayaking or canoeing. I also love that the two kids are led by two adventuring moms eager to have their kids explore the outdoors.
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7. Flashlight
The flashlight is a great alternative choice when looking for camping books for toddlers. With no words to accompany the images, it offers the opportunity to create new storylines every time and/or to encourage your child to come up with the storyline. Encouraging exploration of the woods, the flashlight beams on different things, highlighting the beauty and mystery of the outdoors at night. Our son LOVES playing with flashlights, so this book was a natural choice for us.
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8. Camping Spree With Mr. Magee
This entertaining story is a playful romp that follows the adventure of Mr. Magee and his dog Dee. With lush illustrations and an exciting storyline, older toddlers will love listening along to the story of how the two of them manage to get out of a perilous situation. The content does involve being perched along the edge of a high waterfall, so if you have sensitive toddlers you may want to save this book for when they are a little older.
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9. Fred and Ted Go Camping
This classic book comes from the son of famous children’s book writer P.D Eastman. Using simple language and cartoon-style illustrations, Fred and Ted Go Camping is the story of two friends on a camping trip and the different approaches they take. If your toddler loves Go, Dog, Go!, this book is a natural choice for your child. It includes popular camping pastimes like setting up the tent and fishing as well as camping imagery to prepare them for what a campsite is like.
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10. S is for S’mores: A Camping Alphabet
S is for S’mores is a wonderful camping themed book that can grow with them as they age. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the content goes much deeper than the standard preschool books about camping. Offering rich language and engaging education, this is a standout book for any caretaker who wants to provide a multilayered camping book for toddlers. I also love that the book uses families of different ethnicities and backgrounds.
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11. C is For Camping
C is for Camping is a beautiful board book for toddlers that is excellent for introducing camping as well as reinforcing the ABC’s. It’s a good choice if you are looking for a simpler book than the previous ABC themed book. I like it because it shows what camping looks like and brings up certain principles of camping like keeping your campsite clean. The book has no storyline, so it will require more engagement from the reader to explain and talk about the imagery. The book has a fun, nostalgic vibe while including people of varied backgrounds and ethnicities.
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12. Camping Day
Camping Day is a silly, comical camp-themed book that is perfect if you’re looking for something light and fun to read with your toddler. If you want a book that is a truthful representation of camping, this is not the book for you. It’s a lighthearted romp of four crocodile friends and all the misadventures they get into while camping.
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13. Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems
Toasting Marshmallows is a lovely collection of rich imagery and camp-inspired poetry. This is another book that will grow with them as they age. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to start young and instill a love of poetry and words along with an endearing love for camping.
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14. Let’s Go on a Hike!
If you’re going camping with a toddler, it’s highly likely you’re also going hiking with a toddler! Prepare them for the adventure with this sweet rhyming book that’s all about the joy of a life outdoors. The experience becomes a jovial exploration when his dad gives him binoculars, and he begins to see all the fascinating life lurking in the forest. My child loves binoculars, so I know how much that sentiment is true! I love how, unlike many children’s books, it features a multi-ethnic family.
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15. The First Forest
The First Forest is another book that isn’t directly about camping but is a lovely addition if you’re looking to create a collection of books about camping and the outdoors. Isn’t a big part of camping about enjoying and respecting the outdoors? With stunning illustrations and a storyline about the importance of caring for others, it’s a beautiful book that can be returned to time and time again. In fact, our toddler often asks for this book in particular when it’s reading time.
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Happy Camping! Let me know if you use any of the suggested camping books for toddlers for your camping adventures. Also, if you have any cool camping books you like that aren’t mentioned, let us know in the comments below.
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