Berkeley Parents Recommendations: Books for LITTLE babies

Berkeley Parents Recommendations for Arts & Entertainment

Books for LITTLE babies

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July 2001

I have an almost one year old who I want to read to more. I'm looking for suggestions on books that I can enjoy with her, and also suggestions for actually managing to get her to read with me (she's very wiggly!)

I suggest getting board books from your favorite thrift store because they will eventually be chewed on and/or ripped apart. I found a bunch for about 65 cents each. I am always surprised by which books my 19-month-old son will favor - some that are so boring to me are fascinating to him and vice versa. What he really seems to like are the rituals we make up. For example, I always make a "ribbet" sound when he points to the frog in one book. In another book, on the last page I always make the book "eat" his hand. Some books I read almost as if they were songs - I use the same rhythmic, singsong voice each time. Repetition seems to be key. The Pat the Bunny, Pat the Cat, Pat the Puppy books are fun because the baby gets to participate - but I guarantee that they will get ripped apart. Have fun! Helena

My 14-month-old daughter loves books and loves to "read." I have been reading to her for several months. In choosing books I limited myself to books with cardboard pages because she used to grab the pages. I choose books with bright, clear pictures and not a lot of text, but text that is not too boring to me to read over and over and over and over. A Sesame Street book was her first favorite. She really likes books with songs and rhymes. Good luck. HalfDink

Try "Oh Where, Oh Where Is Kipper's Bear" by Mick Inkpen and "Dinosaur's Binkit" by Sandra Boynton. We had the same problems with wiggling and found that books with flaps or other things to touch were very appreciated at story time. Denise

I had so looked forward to reading lots of books to my baby and she wouldn't sit still either! However, at about 14 months old, she suddenly started bringing me books to read to her and holding up her arms to sit next to me. It's been so great! So I'd recommend hanging in there for a couple more months - she'll get less wiggly! Prior to that, I used to simply offer up lots of books, sometimes just sitting next to her on the floor and reading to her while she played with other toys. She definitely learned an appreciation for books in this way and often "reads" to herself as well and shares her books with her dolls. We're big fans of board books - all of our other books are put away for when she's a bit older. She enjoys Dr. Seuss (the Beginners series) and especially loves the First ABC, Number and Word Books. They're sold as a set from Right Start. She requests these most frequently. The Clifford books are also fun and short enough for that short attention span. Have fun! Jill

My 1-year old is crazy for books, squealing "gok" dozens of times a day as he brings me one after another to read to him. His favorites are "lift-the-flap" books and others with mechanical interest. Good titles include Where's Spot?; Who Lives Here?; Where's Maisy?; the Furry Jungle series; Rolie Polie Olie--Polka Dot, Polka Dot; 1,2, Peekaboo; and Tulip Builds a Birdhouse. Ordinary board books that have consistently captured his interest (he's also very squirmy and lets me know immediately when a book is a dud) include: Is Your Mama a Llama?; Time for Bed; If You Were My Bunny; The Real Mother Goose; Jamberry; Polar Bear, Polar Bear; Bear on a Bike; the Max series; and most of the Sandra Boynton books--especially Moo, Baa, La La La and the Going To Bed Book. Besides flaps and things that he can move, what he seems to like best in a book is a perky rhyme, bold pictures--especially if they're tinted orange--and books with animals--though he seems to think Peter Rabbit is a disaster). We're sticking to board books for now, since he's prone to shredding thin paper pages. Barbara

My baby loves the four book series by Helen Oxenbury. Some of the titles are "Say Goodnight" and "Tickle, Tickle." They are board books (bigger size than most) with wonderful watercolors of babies doing fun things like playing in the mud or swinging. Oxenbury has many books, but this particular series is nice because of the ethnic diversity of the babies. Jenne

I have a 13 month-old. We really enjoy some of the simpler Dr. Seuss books--Mr. Brown Can Moo, Foot Book, ABC. There is a Harper Collins series of books that I have found at the library that have age-level labels on them. The pictures seem to engage my daughter and they are a great length. Plus, the language they use has lots of rhyming, which is good for young kids. Some of the titles are Baby Dance, Cow Moo Me, My Aunt Came Back. My daughter is also very into lift-the-flap books. I've gotten several of those at Target. In general though, my advice is read to her whatever you enjoy reading. It's not important that your daughter sit and listen to a whole story, just that she sees reading and language as fun to play with. Sometimes my daughter will listen to a whole (short) story. Other times she'll hand me a book, listen to 2 pages or want to read a certain page, and then hand me several other books for 2 p! ag! es of each as well. Also, we have books all over the place. Our daughter spends a lot of time looking through them, throwing them, pulling off the shelves, tasting them, and walks around carrying them. I quickly stopped worrying about keeping them in good condition and realized that if I wanted her to love books, we had to let her have access to them and explore them in her own ways. Hardin

Helen Oxenbury has a series of little baby books (two titles are "Tickle, Tickle" and "Clap Hands"). We found some of them at the Montclair Library, but I'm sure they're available elsewhere. They're short and simple with cute illustrations of chubby babies and toddlers, and you can act them out while you read them. My daughter loves them. Ilana

From the time my daughter was on the changing table, I read to her poems from a Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Lewis Stevenson. They're fun and the cadence is really catchy. Now my daughter can read them to me. Stefanie

My daughter loves board books by Sandra Boynton. They're quite cute (But not the hippopotamus), and educational too (Horns to toes and in between, Opposites, Moo Baa la la la). She has more than 10 books out. Richa

For many, many months of my son's early life I read *On the Day You Were Born* just about every day to him. I don't remember the author, but it's easy to find. The paper-cutout illustrations are simple and clear, the text is beautiful. I believe that reading the same thing over and over is good for their little brains, so I recommend you find a one or two books you like and stick with them, allowing other books to cycle in and out. Don't worry about the wiggling; if she's not in the mood to be held, you can still read while she plays next to you. L. C.

Books to read a one year old: at this age my son used to love "Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You?" which is by Dr. Seuss or one of his associates (Theo LeSieg?). This books obliges the reader to make lots of funny sounds. Also in that same Seuss-type series, there are the Foot Book, the Hair Book, the Eye Book, you get the idea. And by the way, don't toss these out or give them away when you child progresses to being read more sophisticated books. They will still come in handy when the child is learing to read for her/himself. Dianna

We've been reading to our little one from birth and she has more recently be interested in grabbing books and backing up and sitting in your lap. (ahem...hint, hint) She's almost 1 1/2 now but this has been going on for the past couple of months. I've heard and used a couple of suggestions myself for getting her interested. * Try to read in down time when they're not too 'wiggly' or antsy to run around. They are better able to concentrate on the books and the experience of reading with you if they don't have to get up and jump or climb or get out energy. * Point to things and characters in the books as you're reading. * Go at your childs pace. If they want to 'linger' on some pages and check out the scenery, or go back and check out something you already looked at...just go with it. * Cue your child when to turn the pages by flicking the page or by voice inflection. This seems to keep our little one interested and makes the reading a lot more interactive. * Have books that are easy to 'handle' for a smaller child, the chubby books or the board books. This way, you don't have to worry about a book being torn up or damaged and your child can handle them any way they want. * This last one has worked recently for me: If your child starts to get antsy with the 'length' of the book try 'singing' the book. I know this works wonderfully with the Dr. Suess books. good luck... Liz

Check with your local children's librarian for books that appeal to the little ones. Try books with lots of rhyming or babies faces; my daughter's early favorites included Jamberry (Bruce Degen), The Foot Book (Dr. Seuss), and Sheep in a Jeep (Nancy Shaw). There is also the Harper Collins Growing Tree series of board books which carry an age-appropriate designation (Wrapping Paper Romp in this series was another big fave). Janet

Check out the Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. In addition to tips on reading to kids, he provides a well annotated bibliography of good read-aloud books for infants to young teens. For infants, one of his suggestions is to just read out loud (nursery rhymes might be a fun start) while they wiggle or move around the room. They will gravitate to you and the pictures when they are ready. Jen

When my son was that age he really loved the Sandra Boynton books, especially one called "Doggies" (or something like that). "One dog. WOOF! Two dogs. WOOF! Yap yap." etc. Best reading time was always when he was getting sleepy, but those move quickly enough that they kept his attention. "Pat the Bunny" was another good one. So were any good rolling rhymes. I highly recommend "Two Cool Cows" by Toby Speed, for babies up to preschoolers. It's longer, but mine loved the rhythm even when he was tiny. Michelle

Check out Baby Bounce at the Berkeley Library -- most of the branches have it, some in the day, and at 7 in West Berkeley. We loved it, though my daughter did a fair amount of wandering around. Books we liked: I Went Walking (I can't remember the author, sorry); Good Dog, Carl; books that were pictures of babies and little kids -- one was called "Happy Days;" some of Eric Carle's books; Brown Bear, Brown Bear; and the Architecture Colors, Shapes, Etc. We had to stick to board books because the rest got torn or eaten. Have fun reading! CD

I also have a wiggly 1 year old girl who was hard to read to. She enjoys long leisurely lunches (an hour or so per meal!). So, one day it occured to me that I could read to her while she ate in her high chair. This works great. I pull my chair up next to her and hold the book out for her to see and she really enjoys it (and continues to eat). As for specific book recommendations I will also be very pleased to hear what others recommend. I've been having a hard time finding very many that are age appropriate and yet interesting to read. I have two I like now: "Olivia" by Ian Falconer and "Way Out in the Desert" by T.J. Marsh and Jennifer Ward. You sing this one to the tune of "Over in the Meadow," it's very fun. Peter

When my oldest daughter was 1 year old, she and I really enjoyed the board book version of "Goodnight Gorilla." Each time we turned to a new page, I asked her to point to the gorilla (the gorilla is on every page). As she became better at this, I asked her to find the balloon, the mouse with the banana, the moon etc. This method of asking your child to find things on the page may help to really engage her/him. So any book with a consistent creature as a part of the images throughout the book may help your little one to stay engaged (e.g., the grouchy ladybug). Another wonderful and entertaining book by the Goodnight Gorilla author is "10 Minutes 'til Bedtime." It also repeats a lot of critters but on a much more detailed level (so is probably better for an older child); and some of the "Goodnight Gorilla" characters are in the background on one of the pages. You can check out the author's web page at http://www.hamstertours.com/ for the pure fun of it. Good luck!

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