Books

For infants, a book represents the closeness of being held and the soft sounds that come from a familiar person. Eventually, they will understand how a book "works" and that the black squiggles somehow correspond to the sounds the reader makes. These are all pre-literacy skills that better prepare your child for a lifetime of learning.

Here are some books, recommended by our instructors, that are very popular with babies.

	Chicka Chicka ABC Bill Martin Jr. This is my all-time favorite book for babies based solely on the response it receives from little ones. I've actually seen infants "dance" to the sing-songy story about the letters of the alphabet trying to climb up a coconut tree ("Chicka chicka boom boom, will there be enough room?"). The simple illustrations are bright orange, green and pink paper cut-outs on a white background that provide the perfect contrast for baby's new eyes.
	Barnyard Dance Sandra Boynton You'll sound like a square dance caller when you read the rhyming text of Sandra Boynton's funny story - except all your dancers are farm animals! You'll give instructions like, "Hop with the bunny," "Strut with the duck," or "Everybody promenade two by two!" Boynton's animals are always amusing, so the adults will get a laugh too.
	Jamberry Bruce Degen "One berry, two berry, give me a blueberry" is how this super-repetitive story starts. The repetition is great for encouraging your baby to make those first consonant sounds (usually a "b" sound).
	Touch and Feel Baby Animals DK Publishing DK is known for their sharp photographs on stark, white backgrounds that attract baby's eye. This series includes patches of fabric, fur and other textures to make the book an interactive experience.
	Little Boy Blue Iona Opie and illustrated by Rosemary Wells Reintroduce yourself to some of the world's favorite nursery rhymes accompanied by the endearing animal drawings of Rosemary Wells (of Max and Ruby fame). She somehow makes these little animals so expressive that they truly bring the rhymes to life. Every family needs a good collection of Mother Goose and these books will be well-worn in no time.
	Ten, Nine, Eight Molly Bang Tired of Goodnight Moon? Ten, Nine, Eight is a great alternative that shows the loving ritual between a boy and his father of counting various things in his bedroom before its time to go to sleep.
	Brown Bear, Brown Bear Bill Martin Jr. This is now a classic loved by several generations of children. Every page uses the same rhythmic sentence to ask an animal what it sees. The animal always replies that it sees a different animal of a certain color (i.e. "I see a green duck looking at me."). Great for identifying colors and animals
	Baby Angels Jane Cowen-Fletcher Baby Angels is a sweet story perfect for gift-giving. Without being religious, the book shows how baby angels are sometimes naughty, and sometimes good but they are always watching over our babies; a wonderful way to make them feel snug and secure.
	Maybe My Baby Harper Growing Tree Babies love looking at other babies and the photographs in this book will surely make them smile. Each page shows a baby dressed in the attire of a certain career (hard hat, tutu, etc) while the text leads you to wonder what path your child will eventually take. The careers and genders are nicely mixed (no generalizations here) and the story closes with the notion that you will love your child no matter what.
	Wrapping Paper Romp Harper Growing Tree Have you ever given your child some wrapping paper to play with? It never occurred to me until I read this book. The rhyming text of this book portrays the experience of playing with rolls of paper as the most exciting thing since sliced bread. So I tried it and it's true! The subject of wrapping paper also makes it a good choice as you approach any gift-giving holiday.
	Good Night Gorilla Peggy Rathmann This wordless picture book about a zookeeper whose animals secretly follow him home and crawl into bed with him is as entertaining for adults as it is for babies. The fact that there is no text makes it a good choice for "picture walking," or pointing to things in the pictures and talking about them. This is an important pre-reading skill for babies.
	Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb Al Perkins This book is just as silly as you can get but the rhythm is so enticing! The story is about monkeys playing drums with their hands, their fingers and their thumbs and bounces along into complete nonsense ("hand in hand more monkeys come!"). All of which, of course, makes it a winner with babies.
	Time For Bed Mem Fox This fantastic bedtime story is quickly becoming a classic baby shower gift. Each page shows how a different animal says goodnight to her baby. The soft paintings of the starry night sky and the furry baby animals being nuzzled by their mothers will lull your baby into a safe, secure sleep.
	A You're Adorable Martha Alexander A you're adorable, B you're so beautiful......This song was popular in the 40's and will surely get grandma and grandpa involved as they sing along to this charming ABC book.

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