The most important gift you can give your baby is to read aloud to him, according to Sheilah Egan, a children's book expert who works at A Likely Story, a children's bookstore in Alexandria, Va. In fact, she says, begin reading aloud to your baby in the womb, choosing rhythmic, rhyming stories, such as Mother Goose rhymes or poems. Your baby, who already knows your voice, will be soothed by the quiet rhythms of such books, creating a happy, serene environment in utero.

Once your baby is born, make reading a special time. Hold him close, snuggling together with the book. He'll soon associate books with the pleasure of having you all to himself. Books are a great conversation starter — from pointing out colors and objects with babies to dealing with moving to a new home, new siblings and potty training later on.

Make books and story time a part of your youngster's day, and as he gets older, incorporate books and reading into activities, from consulting a recipe for a special dessert to helping with shopping lists or experiencing the joy of a card or a letter from a loved one. Books on tape can be an excellent companion on car trips or when you can't stop for story time.

Egan suggests that parents looking for activities that can help your youngster become an avid reader consult Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready by June Oberlander (third edition, Bio Alpha, 2000). A retired kindergarten teacher, Oberlander wrote the book to advise her daughter-in-law on activities she could do with her new daughter from birth to age 5.

Birth to 3 Months Your baby's hearing is quite acute. Start with rhythmic and rhyming books, advises Egan. Your baby's vision is still developing. Choose books with fairly uncluttered pictures, with good contrast and a nice mix of faces. Books with photos, particularly of babies, are especially good choices. Engage in dialogue with your baby. When he makes sounds, respond to him. Call and response is important for his developing language skills. Choose books with high contrast of colors and shapes.

3 to 6 Months When you read, point to objects on the page. Your baby will soon begin to associate what he sees on the page with what you are saying, explains Egan. Sing with your baby, and recite old familiar songs from your own childhood. There are also books based on "I'm a Little Teapot" and many other old favorites. Books about the world around your baby — bees, flowers, animals — and books that incorporate sounds, such as animal sounds, are wonderful additions to your baby's growing library. Photo-illustrated books featuring colors, simple objects and babies, such as I Love Colors and Baby Faces by Margaret Miller (Little Simon) offer opportunities to identify familiar items.

6 to 9 Months Continue to choose visually stimulating books with simple, relatively uncluttered pictures. Books such as Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (Harpercollins)and others combining beautiful illustrations with rhythmic language continue to be popular, says children's bookseller Egan. As you read to your baby now, begin pointing to words as you read. It helps him to begin understanding that we read from left to right and top to bottom — and that these objects on the page translate to the sounds he hears. Touch becomes particularly important now. Choose books such as Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt (Golden Books) and titles from the Dorling Kindersley Touch and Feel series. Babies explore everything with their mouths. Choose sturdy board books with rounded corners, which hold up better to chewing and avoid accidental pokes in the eye.