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Great books for babies

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Encourage your baby to be a lifelong reader (0-12 months)

If you've recently had a baby—or maybe you're a new aunt or uncle—one of your goals might be to encourage a lifelong love of reading in this gorgeous brand-new person. 

This lens will give you some resources and encouragement, including a few gentle pieces of advice, to set you on that course. 

(This Lens Is Proudly Featured On Shakadoo.com!)

What reading does for babies

Babies love to be near their parents. Your focused attention on their beautiful little selves is the most powerful thing in their universe.

Your voice and attention will help your baby develop a tremendous sense of self, and the core belief that the world is a good place. And listening to the same words over and over will start to help them with the great task of their first year of life, learning the rudiments of language.

The more you read to your baby, the stronger a foundation she will have for language. (It doesn't mean she's going to talk at 7 months—this is about lifelong development, not some Baby Einstein contest.)

Wheels on the Bus

Charming watercolor illustrations of a bus making its way through a French city (the pictures have a gentle vintage feel) will help you actually enjoy singing this song to your baby. Over. And over. And over again.
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Baby Faces

Babies love babies. This is also an excellent resource to start teaching your baby the language of emotions. The sooner he learns the words for "happy," "sad," "angry," and "hungry," the sooner he can express them verbally rather than having to act out. This simple book is an excellent first step to lifelong emotional intelligence.
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Short is good

Before he was 10 or 11 months old, my little boy wiggled too much even for a full reading of Goodnight Moon. My sister gave me a great tip—read shorter books. Priddy's chunky eight- to ten-page books (with one word per page) are fantastic for babies. Capture short attention spans and start building that love of reading.

You don't have to stick with ten-word books, though. Make any book short enough by just reading the first sentence on every page. Their attention spans will build gradually as they get older—for now, keep it fun and don't push it.

Roger Priddy's great (short) books for babies

Bright Baby Animals is ten words, ten pictures, and small enough for little hands. The other two are just a bit longer. This whole series is basically perfect.
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I am a Bunny

illustrated by Richard Scarry

This is quite different from Richard Scarry's other books. It's a very simple and beautifully illustrated story of a gentle bunny named Nicolas, as he names the things he likes about each season. Very suitable for babies, and will remain fascinating as your child grows older as well. Excellent botanical-quality illustrations—who knew Scarry could actually draw?
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Follow your baby's lead

Remember that there's no innate virtue in completing a book, never mind what your mother told you. If the baby wants to quit in the middle, that's just fine. If she wants to stare at one page for twenty minutes, that's fine too.

Drop any agenda at all you have about reading and just present the book as an opportunity to cuddle and talk together. You'll see far better "results" than you will with any attempt to push.

The amazing world of Richard Scarry

I would have thought these were too complex for babies, but my little guy couldn't get enough of them. There's lots to look at, and your baby will probably develop some favorite pages to return to again and again. Scarry's books are great for building vocabulary, and they have a subtle, wacky sense of humor that will keep you from wanting to jump out the window when you're reading them for the 10,000th time.
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More lenses on encouraging your child to read

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100 First Words

two more complex Priddy titles

These are longer and more "advanced" than the earlier Priddy books above. Wait until your baby has a bit more willingness to sit still before you start on these, unless you want to focus on just a page or two.

You won't believe that some day your Bug will know all of these words, but she will. Clear pictures will help your baby establish a solid early vocabulary. Plus babies really like them.
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And one book for yourself

Babies are magical, beautiful creatures, embodying everything that is hopeful and good in the human spirit.

They're also little atomic bombs for your marriage.

The exhaustion, anxiety, and stress of new parenthood can throw you for a loop even if your marriage is rock solid. This was the one book I actually found useful. It gives smart advice for navigating the rough spots and lets you know that you aren't alone. (You may even find that your spouse is a lot less clueless than the general population, which is always nice.)

Highly recommended!
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What's your favorite baby book?

Let me know about your very favorite book for babies. I'll check it out, and if I love it, I'll add it to the lens. (I probably won't add Goodnight Moon even though it is terrific, because everyone already knows about it. Do you agree?)

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sonia_simone

Writer, marketer, tinkerer, parent, human being, meditator, gardener, obsessive, bookworm, smartypants, idiot, knitter, bleeding heart, analyst, and wannabe... more »

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