5 baby books your child needs

5 Baby Books Your Child Needs by Fi Morrison at mummamorrison.com

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I’m a picture book fanatic, coming from a primary school teacher background. In fact I did a thesis all about children’s books and how crucial they are to children’s development. I collect picture books from around the world, so I’m kind of obsessed! So becoming a new mum meant I had a wonderful opportunity to share my love of books with my son (who thankfully loves books as much as I do!).

5 Baby Books Your Child Needs

When choosing books for your baby, there are a couple of things I would recommend looking out for:

• Cloth books are great for young babies as it adds a sensory dimension to their experience with books. Plus they won’t get ruined.
• Board books are the next “step” for babies in their reading endeavours, as they again are durable but allow them to really engage with the process of reading, such as turning the pages.
• Books that incorporate noise, music, or any sensory engagement (such as feely books) are great for helping babies get involved in the reading experience and help their understanding of words or pictures. For example, a book that allows you to press a button to make the noise of a dog, which accompanies a picture of a dog, helps babies create an association between the dog and the “woof” sound.
• Ultimately, the way you as a parent reads and engages with the story will help your child develop an understanding not only of reading as a whole, but the content throughout. For example, animal books are great to help you reinforce the names of animals and the sounds they make while you’re reading the story.

So what are some of my favourite books to read to my son? Here are a few that we love:

The “That’s not My…” Series

Recommended for 6 months + 

The “That’s not My…” series includes parts on each page for your baby to touch. It teaches them about different textures, while parents read an accompanying, simple storyline. As your baby gets older, they will learn where to find the different textures. It is also a great way to introduce the vocabulary to your children when they become toddlers (such as rough, soft, and so forth). Our family favourite is “That’s Not My Dinosaur”!

Finger Puppet Books (such as Incy Wincy Spider)

Recommended for 6 months +

There is a series of finger puppet books that are just gorgeous – each page has a hole in the middle of the book and a finger puppet that sticks out through the hole (you can stick your finger in through the back of the book). There are books for nursery rhymes such as Incy Wincy Spider and Mary had a little lamb. Puppets are always an engaging resource for babies, and listening to nursery rhymes also helps a baby’s language development. There are also story versions such as Muddy Paws’ Busy Day.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Cloth Book

Recommended for 0 months +

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a personal favourite of mine, and the cloth version allows young babies to engage with the book (by crinkling and scrunching the pages while you read). The cloth book version has basic pictures and vocabulary prompts which means this book will grow with your child as their language develops as well.

Where is the Green Sheep?

Recommended for 6 months +

A gorgeous, rhyming book by Mem Fox. There are lots of opportunities for fun and laughter in this book as you read to your baby. Rhyming books are another great way to support your child’s development as they learn to listen to (and eventually repeat) the sounds of words. ‘Where is the Green Sheep’ also lets your child learn concepts of colour, practice the association between sheep and their sound (“baa”) and learn different vocabulary words.

123 by Alphaprints (and the whole Alphaprints collection)

Recommended for 3 months +

Another great sensory book, the Alphaprints range creates gorgeous images using finger prints as the main body or faces of animals. The embossed finger prints allow your baby to feel the ridges of each animal as you read the story, and the Alphaprints range include books for counting, colours and shapes (we have a Dinoshapes one which is amazing – notice the dinosaur theme?!).

Here are a few of our favourite baby books and the reasons why we love them!

What is your child’s favourite baby book?