We knew before baby arrived that we wanted to foster a love of books and reading. I truly believe that the benefits of reading to baby are immeasurable– it helps with language development, object recognition, concentration and provides a relaxing, calm activity for baby before bed. I started reading to baby before bed within the first three months, but it became a strict part of our bedtime routine around four months when we actually had a very stable bedtime routine: milk, bath, books, teeth, milk, sleep.
By about six months of age, some favourite books emerged. I loved this period as well because I could basically read baby whatever I wanted, and he didn’t really know how to protest like he does now. Now he can shake his head no, slam the cover of the book closed and throw it off the bed if he doesn’t like it!
Dr. Seuss’s A, B, C. I’d read it to him enough times that I knew most of it by heart, and no sooner than I started spouting out rhymes did he snap out of his crying and listen extremely intently. After that I started to read him other rhythmic books like Dr. Seuss’s Hop on Pop, and Deborah Diesen’s The Pout Pout Fish.
I also noticed that he really enjoyed books with animals, and seemed really interested in hearing the sounds that the animals make. In fact, baby’s first purposeful “word” was “roarrrrr.” We were reading Jane Foster’s Animal Sounds, which we were introduced to at Concession Library’s Baby Story Time, when I heard baby growl at the lion page. The next night the same thing happened. I flipped back to the lion page a few more times, and it kept happening. Maybe it is a first time mom thing, but I was amazed that at around 9 months baby recognized an animal and the sound it made.
The choices for children’s books are infinite and I know that I did a lot of online research to figure out which books would be best to start off baby’s library. We’d been given the Dr. Seuss books as a baby shower gift, so they were literally baby’s first books. After that, if I saw board books that looked simple, bright and colourful at Costco I’d pick them up because they’re always a great price. I have bought a few books at Indigo or on Amazon with gift cards, but I always end up feeling burned when I see them in great condition at Value Village during one of our thrift shop stops. You can often get a bag of four board books for a third of the cost of one brand new board book. So now I make a point of trying to buy board books second hand, borrow them from the Hamilton Public Library, or even exchange them in one of our neighbourhood’s Little Free Libraries. You can find Little Free Library’s in your neighbourhood using their handy map.
So, I thought I’d share with you some of baby’s favourite books from about 6-12 months. In addition to the ones mentioned throughout this post already, here are some books that we really enjoyed during this period:
1. Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey. This fun book features a grumpy pug and a playful dachshund, reminding us of our own fun-loving pup, Starbuck the dachshund.
2. Traffic Jam of Trucks by Roger Priddy. This book has some texture and features some very simple vehicles, making it easy for baby to learn and point out the vehicles when they all come together on the last page.
3. Baby Loves Quantum Physics by Ruth Spiro. Much to Dada’s delight, baby LOVED the Baby Loves science series, which also includes Aerospace Engineering, Thermodynamics, and Quarks. This book made baby laugh like crazy, and we were both happy that science was so amusing to him!
4. That’s Not My Puppy by Fiona Watt. Fiona Watt’s “That’s not my” series definitely grabbed baby’s attention because the books feature lots of different textures for baby to feel. The Puppy version includes shaggy ears, a squishy nose, and a shiny collar for baby to explore. They have the whole series of these books at daycare, and I’m told that baby spends a long time pouring through these books on a regular basis!
I might as well share baby’s least favourite book(s) too. I don’t know what he has against Sandra Boynton, but he hates Dinosaur Dance, Moo, Ba, La La La and Horns to Toes and in Between! These always result in angry screams. I should probably put them in our neighbourhood Little Free Library.
I’d love to hear about your baby’s favourite books from the 6-12 month period! Was there anything in particular that really caught your wee one’s attention?
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