Need Reading Suggestions for Babies

Sandra Boynton books are great! My kids all loved her books and even now when I read them to my 20 month old, my 7 and 5 year olds hear me and come running. My kids all loved Elmo and so all of the Elmo flip-a-flap books were popular with them. Are You My Mother? is a good one, too.

Good luck,
K.

Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Guess How Much I Love You were some of my daughter's favorites. I liked them all too, especially the last one...it still can make me sniffly at times. :)

Goodnight Moon is a great one. Eric Carle books are good and so are Sandra Boynton. My daughter loved all of these books when she was small and now my son is getting into them (he is a year old now, but walked at 9 months and crawled at 5 months, so he didn't sit still much for books when he was small). They also make a few Dr. Seuss books in small board books that are good (Mr. Brown can Moo, Alphabet Book, etc.). Also, any books that have pictures of animals are good. You can say the name of the animal and the sounds they make. Have fun reading, Grandma!

Dr Seuss books are wonderful and very colorful. The If You Give a Mouse.... series are great. Also, check the library or bookstore for texture books; babies really love those.

I am a first time mother of a two year old and I will probably be stoned for saying this...but I get TIRED of the kid's books. If your grandchildren are still infants (i.e. not really comprehending the words), hand them a colorful board book/toy and read aloud whatever book YOU are reading. The act of reading aloud is more important than the content early on. In fact, it still sometimes works with my two year old. The first book she heard was a biography about Theodore Roosevelt that I started right after she was born.

I started reading 'Pat the Bunny' to my kids when they were 6 wks old... by the time they were 2.5 months, they smiled when they saw the book. Other good ones are Dr Seuss small board books... Hand Hand Fingers Thumb, Mr Brown can Moo, etc. There are many good board books for a small price at TJMaxx and Marshalls - also, Costco carries some.

Good Luck and have fun!! My kids all LOVE books now!!

One of our favorites is probably out of print. The Three Little Kittens... Board books are great: Go Dogs Go. Chick a Chick a Boom, Boom (it starts "A Told B and B told C, I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree..." All of the Carl books (Carl's Christmas, Good Dog Carl etc.) are great because they have no/few words which is perfect for the littlest ones. I wish there were more books that were true picture books. Also check out what's available as cloth books, they can chew on them and play peek a boo and you can throw them in the washer. Little Baa, by Kim Lewis is beautiful...though it may only be in hardback instead of board. There's always Peter Rabbit and Winnie the Pooh. Beautiful illustrations. Enjoy :)

If you have any of the books your girls loved, that would be a great start...my kids loved hearing their grandmother read the books that she'd read to their daddy. My kids (in their 20s) also loved the easy dr. seuss books when they were little...like "hop on pop" and "the foot book" were 2 that I still have almost memorized. "goodnight moon" and "pat the bunny" also...hope this helps!

we got alot of board books ( books made of cardboard ) or fabric books. just open them up and look to see if the shapes are simple and the words are right there with them. Ross dress for less has very inexpensive books. The board books my son loved was alot of different animals and he learned to turn pages and say the animals names. good luck.

Reading to babies/toddlers/children is so important for brain development. Books help young ones start to categorize, classify, identify and develop early literacy skills as they interact with the reader learning about colors, shapes, rhyming etc. Sandra Boyten's books are great for all of these skills. Infants are sensory learners, so they are learning not only through their listening and seeing, but through their tasting and touching. There are many soft books that infants can put in their mouths and bang around without getting hurt. It is the interaction with the reader that really enhances brain development. You will find yourself reading the same book again and again because babies/toddlers need the repetition for brain development. All of this may not seem to matter for babies, but research has shown direct correlation between these activities and learning abilities as adolescents. Enjoy!

Hi P.,
One of the greatest resources I have for finding books for my kids to read is the Library's website. Most of these books are posted and recommended by librarians, who have access to a lot of different children's books as their job. There may also be some recommendations added by patrons of the library. I go to www.hcpl.net, as I'm in Houston, TX. If you do not live in Houston, I'm sure you could find your local library's phone number through the phone book, call them, and ask for their website. I also love the Sandra Boynton series. Also, any books about Carl the dog are pretty cute (they have very little writing, but do have series of pictures that tell a story). My local library is very good about providing board books for the youngest "readers".

My favorites are still the ones my mother read to me so I don't think you can go wrong. My son loved (still does) Goodnight Moon, Time for Bed, Ten in the Den, and basically anything that has a "melody" to it. He also loves the Foot Book by Dr. Seuss. When he was little I would take his feet and move them with the words. He knew his left and right pretty early!

What my mother did was go to Barnes n Noble to the children's section and ask someone who works there.

I think it's really amazing that you want to instill the power of reading and imagination in your grandchildren. They will treasure it always.

Hi P.,

I'm an Usborne Books consultant here in Pflugerville and we have a great selection of books for infants and all ages. We have chunky board books, noisy books, bath books and a couple of series just for babies. Check out my website www.ubah.com/B3315. They can be delivered right to your door. And there is also a monthly drawing for $50 in free books. Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.

J. Holweger
512/251-8877
____@____.com

Go to your nearest public library and check out some books. This way, you'll always have a variety of books to read to them and the librarian is there to assist when making a few selections...My son is about to turn 2 and we went the other day, he had a great time...Most of them even have story time available for infants & toddlers...

P., Nursery Rhymes are always good. I still like the Old Mother Goose ones. New Kid On the Block and Ride a Purple Pelican were new when our grandchildren were young and they loved them. My very favorite book of all time is The Little Engine That Could. I am sure younger moms will come up with some good books, too. Our daughter-in-law always kept a list of the ones she wanted for her children. There is a plethora of good children's books. I like the ones with great illustrations. Half Price Books is a good place to look. I personally buy a lot of books at Family Christian Stores.

All of the Sandra Boytons are favorites of mine as well as Eric Carle's. These are board books along with Goodnight Moon and the funny ABC books. TAILS which is a popup is also great, but for a 2 or 3 who won't tear it. My kids loved Richard Scarry but it depends on the kid. For children who do not want to be read to Richard Scarry's Big Book of Words is a great conversation builder. Can you find Lowly worm? What is he building? Few words, great pictures. For those who love to be read to, the rhymes of Dr Seuss are great. As they grow, I would tailor the book to the child's interest at the moment. Libraries are essential to this venture. We could never buy them all.

Hi P.
reading is so important to little ones and there are lots of good books out there. If I had to chose I would go to the christian book store like Mardells and they have an awesome section for all ages.........but really the old standards are still good and I think if you were only reading the newspaper to infants they would love it- it is the sound of your voice they love and the ryhthem in which you phrase your sentences that will make them happy.
good luck and blessings

Byron Barton has great colorful books. Leo Leonni's books are great. Ezra Jack Keats has a bunch of good ones like one red sun and the snowy day. I recommend buying board books because my son tended to throw, drop, and knaw upon them.

There are so many books I love to read to my baby that it is hard to begin. The one resource I truly love is the Family Connections here in Austin. On their website they have a write up about books they recommend and they also have an amazing resource center where you can join like a public library and check out some amazing books to read with your grandchildren. I promise you will be amazed at their collection. The website is http://www.familyconnectionsonline.org/FamilyConnections/...

Enjoy!

My daughter loves almost any lift the flap or pop up book we can find. I have way to many - to keep myself from going insane as she loves her books and we probably spend an hour a day or more reading. The brand / publisher she likes the best is "Usborne" they have pop-up, lift the flaps, "noisy" books and and different things to feel in the book.

Good luck!

Congratulations! You did not say the ages, so I am guessing infant or toddler.

The classics are still great.
goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny, Courdaroy...

I found this great list..
http://fun.familyeducation.com/reading/toddler/37045.html

make sure you have some of the Dr. Seuss board books in your collection! Also Eric Carle books. Rhyme and repition are very benefical at this stage! My kids also liked the sing a story books by Raffi toddlers until age 5 (Baby Beluga, Wheels on the Bus, Down By the bay, This little light of mine, etc.) Raffi also has a few CD's that goalong with the storys so you can get the "tune" down when you "read" the books!
Oh have to get Jamberry and The BIG hungry bear!

Reading is THE BEST thing a person can do for children and the EARLIER the BETTER!!