10 Spanish Counting Books for Babies and Toddlers

If you grew up with Spanish around you, there’s a good chance you met your numbers in a song before you ever saw them on a page. Maybe it was elephants balancing on a spider’s web, or ten puppies wandering off one at a time. And if those songs are new to you, you’re in for a treat, because you get to learn them right alongside your niño.

Counting libros are some of our favorite things to put in little hands. They’re short, they have a beat, and a toddler can join in long before reading a word, holding up fingers and shouting ¡tres! at the top of their lungs.

We’ve sent every one of these ten out in our boxes, and we’d happily send them all again.

Cinco

Antonio Rubio and Óscar Villán · Kalandraka · Board book · Spanish

Cinco keeps things about as simple as a book can be. Each page holds a shape, a color, and a few words with a beat to them, counting up to five. It belongs to Kalandraka's De la cuna a la luna collection, which means "from the cradle to the moon," and that's just how it feels. It's a lovely first counting book for a baby on your lap, one you can read slowly and almost sing.

5 Patitos

Margarita del Mazo and Cecilia Moreno · Ediciones Jaguar · Board book · Spanish

Five little ducklings head out, and one by one they don't come back. Then mamá pata calls, and all five come home at once.

If you know the finger-counting rhyme, you already know how this one goes, and your hands will probably start doing the motions on their own. It comes from Jaguar's Miau Cartón collection, and it was one of twenty titles chosen for the Fundación Cuatrogatos prize in 2018.

Copito

Maria Luz Malamud and Luciana Feito · Periplo · Board book · Spanish

A little girl and her kitten set out to build a snowman. He gets a nose, two eyes, three buttons, four very funny hairs (the birds love those best), and a glove with five fingers. And just like that, Copito is born!

We fell hard for this tender little story from Periplo, an independent publisher in Buenos Aires. It’s a cozy one for a cold afternoon under a blanket.

1-2-3 Monstruos

Larissa Honsek · Familius · Board book · Spanish

Every monster in these pages was sculpted out of clay and then photographed, so they look like you could reach in and squish one. You count from one to eight by their eyes and their tentacles. It's a fun one for a toddler who loves to point at everything.

Un Elefante: Numbers / Números

Patty Rodriguez and Ariana Stein, illustrated by Citlali Reyes · Lil’ Libros · Board book · Bilingual

One elephant balances on a spider’s web. Then another climbs on, and another, until the poor web finally gives out. It’s the song Un elefante se balanceaba as a bilingual board book, counting all the way to ten.

If you know the tune, sing it. If you don’t, it’s an easy one to pick up, and then it’s yours to keep.

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Yo Tenía 10 Perritos

Paloma Valdivia and Carles Ballesteros · Editorial Amanuta · Board book · Spanish

Ten puppies, and one by one they wander off, so you count down from ten (a fun little twist on the format). The words come from a traditional children's song, so you can sing it if you know the tune and read it aloud if you don't. From Editorial Amanuta in Chile.

Dinosaurios del 1 al 10

Margarita del Mazo and Cecilia Moreno · Ediciones Jaguar · Board book · Spanish

From the same pair who made 5 Patitos, in the same Miau Cartón collection. One through ten, with a dinosaur for every number. If there's a dinosaur fan in your house, you know what to do.

Counting Piggies / Cochinitos Contando

Naibe Reynoso, illustrated by Gabriela Vega · Con Todo Press · Board book · Bilingual

Here you count alcancías, the ceramic piggy banks, all the way to ten in both languages. If there was an alcancía on a shelf in the house you grew up in, this one will make you smile alongside your little one. It's written by Naibe Reynoso, founder of Con Todo Press.

Alebrijes: Numbers / Números

Lil’ Libros · Board book · Bilingual

Each number from one to ten arrives with an alebrije, one of the fantastical creatures of Mexican folk art. The colors are bold and every creature is covered in patterns, stripes and dots and swirls. There is so much to look at that we find ourselves lingering on each page right along with the kids.

123 ¿Quién Viene Después? / 123 Who Comes Next?

Amy Matsushita-Beal · Star Bright Books · Board book · Bilingual

First there’s a boy. Then a girl comes along, and that makes two. A woman makes three. Then a dog! The group keeps growing, and the book keeps asking who comes next, so your child gets to guess. Guessing wrong is half the fun, and guessing right is the other half.

Reading Them Together

Sing the ones that are songs, even if you have to make up the tune as you go. Count the buttons, the puppies, the tentacles, and your child’s toes while you’re at it. And when they hand you the same one for the eleventh night in a row, read it again and enjoy having a favorite in the house. There’s always room for the next libro right beside it.

Every month, new libros chosen for your child’s age and language level.