These are generally great gift ideas for toddlers on through preschool, but see manufactures safety guidelines regarding small parts if you are shopping for a child under 3. Some of the books I include come in board books, paperback and hardback, so you can choose board book versions for younger kids and hardback for preschoolers and up.
There are also great gifts for this age range on each theme/motif page (dinos, unicorns, etc). Below are some of my favorite books and toys that didn't fit into one of those categories.
This is one of my favorite books to read aloud because of the answers kids will enthusiastically shout out, the clever fold-outs, and the simple rhyming text.
I love Magformers as much as my kids do!
Ahh Squigz...my son found a single Squigz in a vacation condo and played with it for a week straight. He picked up whole 100+ piece puzzles with it, piece by piece. His mind was blown when he got a whole set of 24 of them for his 3rd birthday ; )
Everyone loves these stacking blocks! I love this brand in general for its relatively sophisticated, unisex color palette.