books
for loan books to own
By Lisa Thalhimer
Oh, Baby! Books!
Little Hands Can Handle These
Picks
Parents should look for two things when it comes to
buying books for their babies. First, the book should be sturdy enough
for drooling mouths and uncoordinated fingers. Cloth or board books are
the way to go. Second, try to find books that interest you in some way.
You’ll be reading them over and over andoverandoverandover.
Eco Babies Wear Green (Tricycle, 2008) by Michelle
Sinclair Colman is just the right size for little hands. The text and
illustrations by Nathalie Dion will make adults smile.
Eco babies love nature. (Children hug trees in the forest.) Eco babies
eat local. (A baby eats strawberries in the field.) Eco babies compost.
(Baby throws cereal from her high chair to the compost bin.)
Fiona Watt and illustrator Rachel Wells created a
series of Usborne touchy-feely books. That’s Not My Puppy (Usborne,
1999) encourages children to explore different textures.
That’s not my puppy. Its tail is too fluffy. (The tip of the pink
poodle’s tail is made of felt.) That’s not my puppy. Its paws are too
bumpy. (The paw pads are made of faux leather.)
For the sentimental, check out I Love You Through and
Through (Scholastic, 2005) by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak with
illustrations by Caroline Jayne Church. The covers are slightly soft
with rounded corners. A little boy and his bear appear on every page.
I love you through and through. I love your top side. I love your bottom
side. I love you inside and outside.
The reassuring text and endearing illustrations make this a nice choice.
A new series of books produced by Begin Smart, A
Developmental Program for Babies and Toddlers, (Sterling, 2008) includes
the enticing tag, “Books for Brainy Babies.” Their newborn to six months
book, What Does Baby See? consists of five thick pages with a bold,
single-colored animal picture on each page. There are no words. The idea
is simple. Hold your baby while talking about the animals to get him or
her used to the comfort of books. Begin Smart also produces a line of
cloth books including Night-Night Baby. I like this one because the half
pages are sewn to look like blankets. Baby will eventually learn to turn
the pages to cover the sleeping animals.
John Scieszka’s (Chess-kuh) “Trucktown” series is a
must for little boys. Scieszka believes in enticing boys with books that
suit their interests at all ages. If you have a truck-lover, check out
the next two books.
Toddlers will thrill to the energy and excitement of
Who’s That Truck? (Simon and Schuster, 2008) by David Shannon, Loren
Long and David Gordon.
Crash! When this fun flatbed hits the ground, he works and zooms and
plays around! Who is this prankster rig? Jack Truck
Philemon Sturges and illustrator Shari Halpern bring us
a quieter version of truck mania with I Love Trucks! (HarperCollins,
2003).
Trucks, trucks, trucks, I like trucks. Trailer trucks, tow trucks,
trucks that sweep the street.
An appealing book for toddlers is DK’s Baby Says
Peekaboo! Toddlers lift flaps to reveal photographs of babies by Dave
King.
Where is the baby? Is he under the umbrella? Where is the baby? Is she
behind the beach ball?
A nice surprise at the end is a little mirror to reveal the last baby in
the book...yours!
A similar peek-a-boo, interactive book is titled
Peekaboo Kisses (Harcourt, 2002) by Barney Saltzberg. Touted for ages
six months to 3 years, this book consists of lift-the-flaps revealing
different animals, textures and even a squeak button for the mouse.
Opened flaps on the last page reveal a mirror. Peekaboo! I see… you!
A favorite book for toddlers is My First Words: Let’s
Get Talking (DK, 2008). Tabs at the top indicate the subject of each
two-page spread. Flip open the tab with a chair at the top, for example,
and you and your baby can point to photographs of household objects.
sink. bed. towels. phone. Other categories include beach, farm, food and
colors and shapes.
Older toddlers able to listen to stories will enjoy
Swim, Little Wombat, Swim! (Sterling, 2008) by Charles Fuge. Little
Wombat was looking for apples. “Hello,” said a funny squeaky voice.
Wombat spun around. “Hello! I’m Wombat, who are you?” “I’m Platypus,”
said a funny, fuzzy face. In this Little Wombat adventure (there are
several) his new friend, Platypus, teaches Little Wombat to swim.
Lisa welcomes your comments about these books or any other
children’s books you enjoy. Her e-mail is
booklustr@aol.com.
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