mom's guide to baby gear
Books for Babies
books for babies
   9 to 12 Months
  • Books based on familiar baby games can be a springboard to enjoying old and new finger plays and rhyming games.
  • Mama, Do You Love Me by Barbara M. Joosse (Chronicle) and similar books, help reinforce a baby's confidence that his parents' love is unconditional — even if he does something naughty.
  • Your youngster will become "in love" with certain books and insist that they be read over and over. Don't even try to skip a page or change the inflection when you read. You'll simply have to begin again. He treasures the security of predictability.
  • By this age your youngster is beginning to have the dexterity to help you turn pages.
  • "Lift the flap" books offer surprises and the opportunity for activity. Choose sturdy books but remember that these are made to be used and may not survive to be passed on to others.
books for babies
   12 to 18 Months
  • Your toddler is developing a sense of humor now. Choose books that play with language, and don't be afraid to be silly. Sandra Boynton's books, including Moo Baa, La, La, La! and But Not the Hippopatamus (Little Simon) are especially popular with younger toddlers.
  • Young toddlers are classifying the world and rapidly adding new words to their vocabulary, both understood and spoken. Choose books with things to point at and say.
  • Around one year, invest in a well-illustrated book of Mother Goose. Choose one with a single illustrated poem on a page, such as My Very First Mother Goose edited by Iona Opie (Candlewick Press). The repetition and rhythm of these familiar rhymes make them easy to memorize. The things memorized early in life stay with us and provide a platform for comparing new experiences to familiar knowledge. As these become familiar, try playing "fill in the blanks" with them, "Jack and Jill went up the …" Predicting is an important building block to learning.
  • Books with richly rhythmic language that explore familiar incidents in a youngster's life are very popular. Wrapping Paper Romp by Patricia Hubbell (Harpercollins) explores the joys of opening a present. Her Pots and Pans (Harpercollins) celebrates the simple joys of making noise with ready-made kitchen instruments.
  • High-definition, colorful illustrations can help your baby explore the natural world. Bumble Bee (Harpercollins) pairs Margaret Wise Brown's lively poem with Victoria Raymond's sculptured illustrations for an early playful encounter with a familiar insect.
books for babies
   18 to 24 Months
  • Books containing lots to look at and identify and a sense of humor are fun for older toddlers. Wordless books offer great opportunities to explore the details on the page. Ten Minutes Till Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann (Putnam) is a hilarious look at what happens when a little boy's pet hamster offers ten-minute hamster tours on a Web site and the hordes arrive just before bed. Her Good Night Gorilla (Putnam) follows the escapades of a zoo full of animals as the gorilla steals the keys from the night watchman.
  • When reading to your youngster, ask questions to help him learn to predict what's going to happen next or about choices the characters are making. "Do we do that in our house?" "What time of day is this?" Making these kinds of connections is key to learning in the future.
  • Make music and art an important part of your toddler's day. Dancing not only helps your youngster's large muscle skills but also enhances his neurological connections. Cutting, tearing and pasting offer great personal satisfaction when the artwork is displayed on the refrigerator, but they also stimulate the brain.
  • Choose beautifully illustrated books. You're helping your youngster to develop artistic taste that will last a lifetime.

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