Board Books
Ages 0 to 3
Black & White
By Tana Hoban
An accordion style book without words which can be stretched on the floor next to baby. This book inspired more concentration and engagement than most of the other books combined. Great for tummy time!
My Face Book
By Star Bright Books
Babies love looking at faces:
all different races, all different emotions, one feeling per page. Probably our baby's first favorite book, she smiled when she saw the cover and spent a long time looking at each face.
I Can
By Helen Oxenbury
Beginner board book with one word per page and simple, delightful illustrations. I like the idea of this book. It hasn't been a favorite yet, but preferences change as babies age. Could double as an early reader!
Carry Me
By Star Bright Books
Celebrating how babies are carried around the world with clear text and vibrant pictures. Our daughter showed most interest in photographs of people at the beginning, so we read this type of book on loop.
Hands Can
By Cheryl Willis Hudson and
John-Francis Bourke
Children's hands are capable! A larger than average board book with beautiful pictures to boot. Another frequently read book during the photo-loving stage.
Families
By Star Bright Books
Families do many loving things together: human families alongside other animals. I like this book as a conversation prompt for how we live and take care of each other.
Dear Zoo
By Rod Campbell
Our daughter loves lifting the flaps to see the animals. We say slithery instead of scary for the snake, and mischievous instead of naughty for the monkey. This is a fun book.
Everywhere Babies
By Susan Meyers and Marla Frazee
A favorite for its poetic language and evocative illustrations, this is a book that parents love, too. I frequently give this book at baby showers. This is my top pick from the bunch.
All The World
By Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee
Another perfect combination of poetic language and pictures you could stare at all day. I also like this as a picture book because the larger pages show off Marla Frazee's art.
Crowds of Creatures
By Kate Riggs and Dogi Fiammetta
"A flock of geese flies to nest, A colony of ants works without rest." Lovely selection of precise terms for describing animal families, also including troops of monkeys, prides of lions, clouds of bats, and pods of dolphins.
Duck's Ditty
By Kenneth Grahame
An adaptation of a favorite song from The Wind in the Willows, I like this book's lyrical prose and varied language: "All along the backwater, through the rushes tall, ducks are a-dabbling up tails all!"
Charley Harper's
Count the Birds
By Zoe Burke
A counting book with Charley Harper's bird illustrations and the names of birds like bunting, bluebird, grosbeak, puffin, pelican, finch, owl, turnstone, and quail.
Music Is...
By Brandon Stosuy and Amy Martin
The many ways to create music and how music makes us feel: "Music is quiet, music is loud, music is slow or made of fast sounds, music is hard, music is soft, music is sad, music is happy."
Let's Play
By Gyo Fujikawa
I like that the illustrations inspire conversations about different feelings in social interactions. You can talk about the child who feels excluded or worried, in addition to those who feel connected and engaged.
Sleepy Time
By Gyo Fujikawa
Soothing nighttime rituals for babies offered alongside varying sleep habits of other animals. "Sometimes it can be hard to fall asleep. You could try sleeping on the floor. Some people do, you know."
The Toolbox
By Anne and Harlowe Rockwell
Precise language and nostalgic feel, I find myself choosing this book again and again. The watercolor illustrations are stunning.
Hats of Faith
By Medeia Cohan and Sarah Walsh
From turbans to hijabs to Rasta hats to kippahs, this book embraces diversity through headwear. I appreciate the pronunciation guidance.
My First Book of Patterns
By Bobby and June George and Boyoun Kim
Accurate language and crisp design; even adults learn something new. "This is a zigzag. A lot of zigzags make... Chevron!"
Quiet Time with Cassatt
By Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober
I read these books after featuring the artist with calendar pictures in our long picture frame (more on this in Baby Registry).
Mini Masters: 4 Board Books
By Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober
I like the word choice and flow: "Through a field of poppies, red and bright, past a flock of turkeys, feathery white
(A Picnic with Monet)."
Sharing with Renoir
By Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober
The last page tells where you can find the paintings in museums, some right in DC!
On An Island with Gauguin
By Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober
Sometimes I skip the text and describe the images, style, and moods in the paintings.
Painting with Picasso
By Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober
When choosing when to offer an artist, I go for high contrast: Monet followed by Picasso.
Dreaming with Rousseau
By Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober
For older children, I also tell stories about the artist when introducing paintings.
Matisse Dance for Joy
By Susan Goldman Rubin
"I'm a pony prancing kickity-kick, or a bird swooping low, soaring high." Strong verbs to go with Matisse's vibrant art.
What A Wonderful World
By Bob Thiele, George David Weiss,
and Tim Hopgood
Saying, "We know that song," did not do this book justice. It feels different and special when reading to your child.
"More More More," Said The Baby
By Vera B. Williams
Three babies, three races, three nurturing adults. I'm tickled by the sweetness of this book.
Forest Baby
By Laurie Elmquist and Shantala Robinson
Crisp writing with carefully chosen words and attractive collage artwork. "Reach to leafy maples with winged seeds. Bend to a painted turtle stretching in the sun. At the lake's edge, foam lifts in the wind."
Feast for 10
By Cathryn Falwell
A counting book: grocery shopping + preparing a family meal with many helpful children. An excellent springboard for talking about family life and race, respectively. If you've read Nurture Shock, you know we should all be talking about race.
A Good Day
By Kevin Henkes
A bad day gets turned around for each character, a story of encountering and overcoming obstacles. "Little yellow bird lost his favorite tail feather... Little yellow bird forgot about his feather and flew higher than he ever had before."
At The Supermarket
By Anne Rockwell
I like that the capable child helps his mother, inspiring and interesting for little helpers.
Ten Little Fingers... And Toes
By Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury
Poetic language and a global message; this was one of my husband's first favorites.
Planting a Rainbow
By Lois Ehlert
I highlight the names of plants and flowers and read this in conjunction with garden visits.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
By Eric Carle
The classic tale of mysterious and miraculous transformation.
Freight Train
By Donald Crews
Precise train language here! Caboose, tank car, cattle car, box car, tender, steam engine.
The Very Busy Spider
By Eric Carle
The perfect Montessori book, a celebration of concentration and hard work!
One Eagle Soaring
By Roy Henry Vickers & Robert Budd
The unique illustrations appeal to me. Parts are raised and shiny, which my daughter ran her fingers over. I like the rhyming, varied word choice: "Three orcas swim the strait. Four bees pollinate."
In the Wind
By Elizabeth Spurr and Manelle Oliphant
A board book with a plot beginning, middle, and end, plus a range of emotions. A girl joyfully flies a kite, accidentally catches it in a tree, breaks the string, watches the kite blow away, and glumly walks home only to find the kite caught in her own apple tree.
Ocean Motions
By Kate Endle & Caspar Babypants
A board book with alliteration, enough said! "Walruses waving warmly... Jellies gently jiggling. Sea stars slowly swaying." I also like the colorful collage illustrations.
In the Middle of Fall
By Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek
Love this sweet poetic book.
"In the middle of fall,
when the leaves have already turned,
and the sky is mostly gray...
and the gardens are brown,
and the pumpkins are ready
and the apples are like ornaments..." Also check out Winter is Here and When Spring Comes.
Clive Is A Nurse
By Jessica Spanyol
The research-supported Tools of the Mind preschool program orchestrates topic-related role playing games, sometimes involving professions. This Clive series gives older toddlers language and illustrations to spark realistic pretend play about jobs.
Clive is a Teacher
By Jessica Spanyol
The research-supported Tools of the Mind preschool program orchestrates topic-related role playing games, sometimes involving professions. This Clive series gives older toddlers language and illustrations to spark realistic pretend play about jobs.
Time for Bed
By Mem Fox & Jane Dyer
Soothing and lyrical. On the longer side for a baby. This classic puts a series of animals to bed: "It's time for bed little goose, little goose, the stars are all out and on the loose."
Big Red Barn
By Margaret Wise Brown & Felicia Bond
Strong and precise writing by the author of Goodnight Moon: "There was a bantam rooster and a little bantam hen
with a big clutch of eggs.
Count them. There are ten."
Swirl by Swirl
By Joyce Sidman & Beth Krommes
For an older toddler or preschooler. Poetic writing with intricate illustrations. "A spiral is a snuggling shape. Coiled tight, warm and safe, it waits for a chance to expand!"
Boat Book
By Gail Gibbons
All types of boats! Rowboats, canoes, sailboats, speedboats, cruise ships, submarines, tugboats, and more! A font of language for a boat lover.
The Little Fire Engine
By Lois Lenski
An advanced board book in that is has a beginning, middle, and an end + a problem and a resolution. Great for children interested in community heroes!
Planes
By Byron Barton
Explaining the magic of things that fly through the sky.
Great preparation for your child's first airplane trip.
Mommy Snuggles
By Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben
"Mommy tiger walks with her cub. Mommy swan glides with her cygnet." This beautifully illustrated book highlights the ways that animals keep their babies close.
Daddy Dreams
By Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben
"Daddy lion dreams on his side. Daddy flamingo dreams on one leg." Simple and charming. The ways that animals rest along with their young.
Goodnight, Goodnight Sleepyhead
By Ruth Krauss and Jane Dyer
A reality based alternative to Goodnight Moon. A body scan saying goodnight to different parts of the body, followed by parts of the room.
I love this charming book.
Mangia! Mangia!
By Amy Wilson Sanger
Part of Amy Wilson Sanger's World Snacks board book series. The books are most interesting if you're familiar with the type of food.
hola jalapeno!
By Amy Wilson Sanger
The singsongy text is fun to read: "Corn tortillas make my tacos, my tostada,... and my chips. Tomato salsa, por favor, and guacamole dip!"
A Little Bit of Soul Food
By Amy Wilson Sanger
Across the series, the three-dimensional collages use wood, plastic, fabric, paper, cross-stitching, and color choice to evoke culture.
Baby Elephant:
Finger Puppet Book
By Chronicle Books & Yu-Hsuan Huang
Our daughter has entered a phase where she likes to interact with books: open flaps, feel textures, and, of course, grab a finger puppet. The elephant puppet steals the show from the text and illustrations. But that's okay, it is a finger puppet after all. Fun!
Tails
By Matthew Van Fleet
"Tails fluffy, tails stringy, scaled tails strong and -- clingy. Tails long, tails stumpy, pulling tails makes snoozers grumpy!" All sorts of interaction possibilities with this book. Pulling tabs, lifting flaps, feeling textures. Our daughter spent a lot of time trying to figure out the wagging tails. This book will be well-loved when we are through.
Pat the Bunny
By Dorothy Kunhardt
I still need to round out our interactive book collection. This is a classic. "[Paul and Judy] can do lots of things. You can do lots of things, too." Pat the bunny, play peek-a-boo, smell the flowers, look in a mirror, put on a ring, read a book. We also have Pat the Zoo, which is not reality based, but I let it slide.
Good Morning, Good Night!
By Teresa Imperato and Melanie Mitchell
Part of our daily nap routine. It's large and doesn't qualify as a board book (bendable pages), but it means so much more texture for the little hands! Love.
Touch and Explore the Ocean
By Nathalie Choux
This is touch and feel book with busy fact-filled pages. Less of a story to read straight-through and more of a conversation starter to savor over time. Fun for older toddlers and preschoolers!
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