Never Too Young!

Favorite books for babies & toddlers

 

Right from the beginning, it is important to read to babies.  Even before they can focus, they still respond to your voice.  The rhythm of the words helps form connections in the brain that will be put to use in language development.  Have fun with rhymes and facial expressions while giving your baby many more sounds and words than most of us use in ordinary conversation. 

 

Your baby will enjoy being held and cuddled and talked to, and will soon associate those good feelings with the experience of reading. As babies grow, learning to hold a book and turn pages are important early literacy skills.

 

 If babies want to put books in their mouths, remember that’s an important way they experience the world.  Choose sturdy board books, and get out the wipes!

 

Crawlers and young walkers may want to wander a bit while still listening to you read.  Just keep reacting to the story.  Choose lift-the-flap books or stories in rhyme to keep them involved. 

 

Your local public library’s Children’s Area is designed for play and exploration as well as reading.  Children’s Librarians welcome families of all kinds and children of all ages!

 

 Get your library card and borrow books like these for free!

(Thanks to Scottsdale Public Library System, AZ and Cambridge Public Library, MA for title and author ideas.)

 

ALPHABET AND COUNTING BOOKS

JE Bang

Bang, Molly – Ten, Nine, Eight.

JE Car

Carle, Eric – 10 Little Rubber Ducks.

JE Ehl

Ehlert, Lois – Eating the Alphabet, Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z.

JE Ern

Ernst, Lisa – The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book.

JE Isa

Isadora, Rachel  -- ABC Pop!

JE Koo

Koontz, Robin Michal – This Old Man the Counting Book.

JE Mar

Martin, Bill, Jr and John Archambault – Chicka, Chicka Boom, Boom.

JE Mus

Museum ABC.  Images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

JE Pep

Peppe’, Rodney – Circus Numbers a Counting Book.

JE Wor

Wormell, Christopher – Teeth, Tails & Tentacles An Animal Counting Book.

JE Woo

Wood, Audrey and Bruce Wood – Alphabet Adventure.

JE Woo

Wood, Audrey and Bruce Wood – Ten Little Fish.

 

BOARD BOOKS

JE Ahl

Ahlberg, Janet and Allan – Peek-a-Boo.

JE Ani

Animal Babies by Brand X Pictures.

JE Asim

Asim, Jabari --Whose Toes Are Those?

JE Buc

Buck, Nola – How a Baby Grows.

JE Day

Day, Alexandra – Good Dog, Carl.

JE Do

Do Cows Bark?  A DK See-Through book.

JE Fox

Fox, Christyan and Diane – Count to Ten, PiggyWiggy.

JE Jen

Jenkins, Emily and Tomek Bogacki – Num, Num, Num!

JE  Wat

Watt, Fiona and Wells, Rachel – That’s not my Penguin...

JE Gut

Gutman, Anne – Daddy Kisses

JE Hob

Hoban, Tana – Red, Blue, Yellow Shoe.

JE Man

Mandel, Peter – Planes at the Airport.

JE Mil

Miller, Margaret – What’s on My Head?

JE Opi

Opie, Iona and Rosemary Wells – My First Mother Goose Wee Willie Winkie and Other Rhymes

JE Oxe

Oxenbury, Helen – Tickle Tickle

JE Tay

Taylor, Ann – Baby Dance.

JE Wat

Watt, Fiona and C-A. MacKinnon – Hide-and-Seek Baby.

 

PICTURE BOOKS for the very young

JE Alb

Alborough, Jez—Where’s My Teddy.   A story in rhyme about a boy who finds a giant teddy bear, and then along comes the bear who owns the teddy!

JE Ali

Aliki –  Welcome Little Baby. A mother tells her new baby what the world is like, and what they will do together.

JE Boy

Boyd, Lizzie – Black Dog Gets Dressed.  A boy dresses his dog, then himself, before going out to play.

JE Bro

Brown, Marc – Play Rhymes.   Familiar verses with hand actions for chanting, singing and dancing.

J Bro

Brown, Margaret Wise – Goodnight Moon!  The classic bedtime story where a child says goodnight to each familiar item in the room.

JE Car

Carle, Eric – The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

  A caterpillar eats his way through everything he sees!

JE Cou

Cousins, Lucy – Little Dog Laughed.  An extremely colorful introduction to Mother Goose rhymes.

JE Cre

Crews, Donald – Freight Train.  A colorful train races down the tracks.

JE Kal

Kalan, Robert – Blue Sea.  Small fish escape larger fish in a colorful underwater world.

JE Wil

Willems, Mo – Knuffle Bunny, A Cautionary Tale.   Trixie says her 1st word on a trip with Daddy.