Books for babies

One of my lovely sisters just had her first baby and it got me thinking about what books are good give to new babies. I’m often indecisive. I want to give books that are helpful to the parent and will have the most impact on the child. But I also love to give books that will be meaningful when the child is 2 or 5 or even 8 years old.

I love the idea of a child having a book that they know a special person gave them when they were a baby and they still have it when they learn to read to themselves. It’s also a cute thing to give them a book which has a character with the child’s name so that as they grow they learn to recognise they name.

For a new baby/toddler board books are awesome. Less chance of permanent destruction, but really they are just easier for a young child to manipulate with their own chubby fingers. Luckily these days lots of great titles are now also available in board book form. We got given ‘Where is the Green Sheep?’ years ago as a hard cover and it is only just holding together, but lots of our board books are still going strong.

Another thing to think about is how the child will interact with the book. Is there a tactile element to the book, or flaps to lift or tabs to pull out? There are lots of great books designed for very young children that are more of a toy than a book. We have had a few cloth books (or soft books) that are awesome because I can send them through the washing machine when a baby spews on them. Lamaze also makes a few.

An obvious ‘go-to’ book for a newborn is one of the ‘That’s Not My…’ series, by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells, for a few reasons.  Firstly there are some 52 titles in the series, so the chances of being able to pick a book that ‘matches’ the child are high. If they have a pet dog you can go for ‘That’s Not My Puppy‘, if the nursery has a farm theme you can choose one about lambs, or cows, or ponies. Actually there is probably a book to go with any theme: robots, fairies, elephants, mermaids, teddies, badgers, trucks, planes, frogs  – there’s a book that will suit. There are even Christmas ‘That’s Not My…’ books.

We have owned a few of these since our first was little and they seem to be good for multiple ages. A few years ago I was reading one, that we have had for years, to a younger child and my oldest stopped what he was doing and walked over to look at the pictures, even though he would have read that book zillions of times. For a child learning to read the sentences are repetitive and thus are perfect for practice.

Also, not only are they all board books, they are ‘touchy-feely’ books. Every page (including the cover) has a element designed to engage the child by touching or feeling a part of the picture. They might feel something fluffy or rough or bumpy or smooth. There are sometimes also shiny or glittery elements that kids love.

My next suggestion is the ‘Spot’ books, by Eric Hill. Again there are heaps of these to chose from. The classic one is ‘Where’s Spot?‘ but there are heaps of other titles that follow Spot on his adventures. Sometimes he goes to the farm, or to school, or his grandparents. Other books see Spot baking, dressing up or becoming a big brother.

The best thing about lots of the Spot books is that they are ‘lift-the-flap’ books. I found that even before 12 months old kids are excited about lifting the flaps to reveal what’s underneath. Little kids must love the anticipation of seeing what’s underneath, so you can read these over and over and they will still be new and real to the child. So real in fact that when I started roaring every time we opened the door to the bear in ‘Where’s Spot?’ one of my kids became too scared to lift that flap.

Of course a lot of these books are not board books, and even the ones that are, the flaps are still very ‘tearable’. Even so, I still recommend them (just keep some sticky tape in the house). I have had Spot books save me on plane rides with a toddler. They have been an absolute staple in our house for years now.

Similar to the Spot books are books by Rod Campbell. There are a few lift the flap books, often available in board book form. His most well-known book is ‘Dear Zoo‘, where children get to guess what animal is hiding under the flap. There is also a Christmas version called ‘Dear Santa‘.

Other lift-the-flap books by Rod Campbell include ‘Oh Dear!‘ and ‘Noisy Farm‘ which are based on farm animals. There are also a few books featuring a character called Buster who has a birthday, or visits a farm etc.

Whatever you choose, a book is always a great gift idea for a child. It’s something you can share together immediately and as they grow. In fact as I type this someone is reading a birthday gift to my kids, and it’s lovely.