As some of you know, in September last year, we welcomed our baby boy, Benjamin, into the world (so if I've been quieter than usual on social media, that's the reason!) What a whirlwind it's been! But I have absolutely loved getting to know our son and discovering the steep learning curve that is becoming a parent.
I've also loved starting to share books with Benji. We read every day, whether it's short 'touch and feel' books, longer picture books, board books, musical books or lift the flap books. I've relied on books to fill the time, to calm Benji down if he's a bit grizzly and also for playing and talking.
Now that our babies are 3 months old, I thought it might be interesting to ask the parents in my NCT group if they are also reading with their little ones and to find out what their top picture book/board book picks are.
Benjamin chooses:
'Touch and Feel'-The Gruffalo and the ever-popular 'That's not my....' series. (We were given the 'That's not my Snowman/Reindeer/Santa' set for Christmas but also have Kitten and Llama). It's fun to explore the different textures and the bold illustrations are perfect for this age.
'Mr Brown can Moo. Can you?' by Dr Seuss- I love the rhythm of the text and enjoy making the noises and making Benji smile. Another firm favourite is 'Books Always Everywhere' by Jane Blatt and Sarah Massini-the illustrations are gorgeous and I truly believe books should always be everywhere!
Mum of Freddie chooses: 'Tyrone the Horrible' by Hans Willhelm. She says 'Apparently it was my favourite as a child, but it's got a great story line about a smaller dinosaur-Roland who is being bullied by a bigger one-Tyrone. It's got a lovely message. Although it's not very much about turning the other cheek in the end and Roland gets his own back! The pages are really bright and colourful and there is a surprise that seems to grab Freddie's attention!
Mum of Ralph chooses: Any of the Dick Bruna books. She says 'Partly I like them because I love Dick Bruna's simple illustrations and stories with Miffy and Boris bear I remember from my own childhood. Ralph likes them because I think the pictures are clear, simple and bold and he is able to focus on them. They are short enough that he can tolerate reading until the end of the book and the books themselves are a bit smaller so he can grab them when they are closed. Other books we enjoy are by Carol Thompson- we have 'Wind', 'Rain', 'Sun' and 'Snow'. It's nice to read about the weather and make the weather sounds while reading them. The illustrations are full of movement and fun too so he likes those!
Mum of Maisie chooses: The Birthday Invitation by Lucy Rowland and Laura Hughes. *Disclaimer* I have to say here that I gifted all of the babies in our NCT group one of my own picture books after they were born but it's very nice to hear that Maisie is enjoying hers!
Mum of Sienna says: 'Like some of the others, Sienna enjoys the 'That's not my...' series. We also have some books that have sounds and music too, such as Musical 'We're going on a bear Hunt' by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury- these are fun for a bit of variety. Sienna's dad's favourites are 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle and 'Ten Little Dinosaurs' by Mike Brownlow and Simon Rickerty.
Mum of Holly says: 'We haven't really done much reading with Holly other than looking at the black and white pattern books'. Holly's mum is bilingual and describes the patterns to Holly in both English and in Chinese, which is wonderful! Lucky Holly being exposed to two languages from such an early age! Babies enjoy strong contrasting colours and patterns as these are the first things that they can see clearly.
Mum of Joseph says: 'We're bit behind on the books and reading front. Joseph rarely wants to sit still and look at a book at the moment. He is enjoying soft material books and loves grabbing them, turning the pages and trying to eat them!'
It's been lovely hearing about which books our little ones are enjoying- whether it's books to support their visual skills, their musical skills, their language skills or their coordination skills, or whether it's those books that are...well... just good enough to eat!!
I'd love to hear what are/were some of your babies' favourites?
What a range of ideas for very new little people! Fascinating ... especially for a children's book enthusiast who has recently learned that she's to become a granny, so is already looking at books with a view to sharing them with a grandchild from the day they're born. Thank you!
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