Reading for Babies.

Maryom's Top Three Books to read and share with babies - and one that got away.

All of these are available as board-books. A wonderful picture book can be lovely to look at but sometimes a book needs to be able to withstand a bit of hammer - being chewed, thrown around, dropped from the buggy, having to be wiped down.. which is where baby friendly board books come in.

Top of my list just HAS to be
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram.

I bought this as an alleged 'first Christmas present' from my daughter , then 7 months, for my husband (along with an 'I LOVE DADDY' bib) I actually hadn't expected it to be READ as a book - I thought it would just get chewed and mauled, but my husband sat down with her and read it and then started doing the 'actions' along with little nut brown hare - I love you this much - stretching his arms wide .. I think at first it was these actions that caught my daughter's attention - she was just at the age when babies start to copy. By the time she could toddle my daughter would fetch this book thrust it at people and expect to have it read then and there.

Peepo by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

is a different sort of book - no actions here but filled with rhythm and rhyme, and of course pictures of the Baby! I'm sure someone knows why, I don't, but babies are fascinated with pictures and photos of other babies - in books, on TV. With each verse, there's a hole to peep through at the Baby - great for a child of 6 months or so, just learning to play Peepo with Mum or Dad.

Peace At Last by Jill Murphy

the tale of poor Father Bear who is unable to get to sleep for all the noises he can hear at night. There's lots of opportunity with this book to have fun making the noises - Mrs Bear's snoring, Baby Bear's aeroplane noises, brrr of the fridge, tick tock of the clock. Some of them your baby may start to join in with.

And the one that got away
Can You See A Little Bear? by James Mayhew and Jackie Morris

This one I've only discovered since my daughter has grown too old for baby books. Lots of bears to hunt on the pages, the repetition of 'can you see a little bear?' as he gets up to all sorts of things and the most gorgeous illustrations for a baby's book ever.

Buy Guess How Much I Love You from Amazon
Buy Peepo! (Viking Kestrel Picture Books) from Amazon
Buy Peace at Last from Amazon
Buy Can You See a Little Bear? from Amazon