A while ago I shared our favourite books from when baby was around 6-12 months old, so I thought I’d do another post to share what reading has looked like for us between 12-18 months!
In addition to adding books to baby’s night time routine, by this point I also added books to the areas of the house where baby had free reign. I cleared off the bottom shelves of the bookshelves in our bedroom and filled them with books for baby to explore when he was playing in our room before bath time. I filled a cloth basket with books in our living area for him to sort through during the day. And, I set up a cargo bin in the car with more books for him to browse through on car rides. Flipping through books in the car usually allows us to drive for about an hour before baby starts getting bored and fussy! I rotate the books every month of so so they’re novel and catch his interest.
I’m a little crazy about keeping my books in good condition (like… I don’t earmark pages, I didn’t highlight or write in any textbooks, and I take the dust jackets off hard covers) and I’d kind of like the same for baby’s books, so I also wanted to instill in him a a respect for books (and his property in general). To set him up for success, right now I only give him access to board books, and we talk about being gentle with lift-the-flap books if he starts getting a little too grabby. Maybe I should just let him be a kid, but on the other hand… adults don’t eat and rip books apart, so it’s never too early to start respecting them, right?
By this point we probably have over 100 books for baby, and we also add more into the collection from time to time by borrowing from the library. I still try to find books that match his current interests. He’s big time into peek-a-boo… like, we play it with his bath towel, his shirts, his bib, and his hands. So it’s no surprise that lift-the-flap books and books are a smash hit with him, especially anything by Karen Katz. He also loves books with moving parts, and is starting to take great interest in books with real pictures rather than illustrations. He’s still really into animals and making their sounds, and is starting to get into vehicles as well. He doesn’t hesitate to shout out a loud “wee-ohhhh” when a fire truck makes an appearance!
Mom Tip! Are you bored of the books at your local library? Did you know that you can use Hamilton Public Library’s online catalogue to order books into your branch? Often, I will browse the library catalogue and choose about 10 books from across the system– they’re all transferred to your local branch and then you can pick them up! You’ll have access to lots of variety, and ordering them online is a huge time saver!
Here are some of baby’s very favourite books (or as I love to refer to them, baby literary classics) from the 12-18 month period:
Anything by Karen Katz. These lift-the-flap books, like Roar, Roar, Baby!, Vroom, Vroom Trucks, and Baby Loves Fall (I think we have 10 in total), get baby super excited when I pull them out. He loves helping to open the flaps and discover what’s underneath. It’s also fun to show him the last page featuring all of the objects that were under the flaps and getting him to point them out, one by one. I was totally surprised that he had been paying close enough attention to be able to learn and point out all of the animals or objects!
Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Dada by Jimmy Fallon. A super simple, but amusing book that Dada loves to read to baby. Not only does it feature lots of animal sounds, but it always ends with baby screeching an emphatic “Dada!!!” Super adorable.
I Thought I Saw a Dinosaur by Templar Books. Baby loves to move the parts in this book, and say “rawr” when the dinosaur appears. He also loves to look for the small hidden kitten on each page and exclaim “ca!”
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins. This book is super rhythmic and repetitive, and kind of puts baby into a state of relaxation when I read it to him.
First 100 Animals by Roger Priddy. This book has been really great for teaching baby about different animals. Right now we open a page and ask him to point out various animals. He’s learning them quickly, and is very proud when he gets them right!
I hope some of my book suggestions will be helpful for your own little one. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your recommendations for books for two year olds!
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