Baby books: Birth to 6 monthsIt's never too soon to introduce books to babies. Some radical thinkers in this area suggest starting at nine months old, but why leave it so late? You could start at birth, making book-time equal quality-time for you and baby. My Toys, designed by Alix Wood and Jenny Fry This washable
padded cloth book has lots of surprises, including a big fabric flap
sewn onto the front cover. Under this toybox lid are four toys that
appear again on the inside pages a teddy, a ball, a drum, and a
kite. The teddy is attached to a ribbon, and can be placed in a little
truck or thrown out of it, if your child is feeling rebellious.
The last image of a sad looking rabbit holding onto a kite string allows baby to lift up the cloud-shaped flap to reveal the rabbit's smiling kite underneath. Mum of a three- month-old comments: "In many ways, a cloth book is more useful than a playmat for really tiny tots. My daughter can't sit up yet, and doesn't like lying on her tummy. She enjoys pulling at the toybox lid on the front it makes a crinkly sound." Published by Andromeda, £4.99 A Bear with a Pear, illustrated by Nicj Sharratt This is
one of those Buggy Buddies, that can be attached via an expanding
plastic cord to a pram or other carry-unit while you and baby are on
the move.
All the rhyming animal examples work there are no awkward pairings, and even though it's a tiny board book, a punchline has been packed in at the end. Each new picture shows an animal with a particular kind of food, so for example there's a puffin with muffins and a bee with peas. The food is also numbered, and goes from one to ten. The number ten page features a bald purple ape sitting comfortably on the ground, gleefully eyeing up a bunch of soon-to-be-scoffed grapes. And Croc's nine chocs look pretty yummy too. Published by Campbell Books, £2.99 For more books in this age range see our baby books archive. Also see this month’s books for babies: |
