The Baby Book Nook

Does your toddler have a pre-k, kindergarten, or first grade sibling? With the help of the right book, the older child can "read" to the younger one, learning letters, numbers, and sight vocabulary along the way. Many board books have little or no text and baby book illustrations tend to closely match the print on the page. Consider two books by Michel Blake:  Baby's Day   and Off to Bed . Each board book shows baby in action in black and white. The twist? One item on each page is in color, catching the reader's eye. That item is labeled in large print--blocks, bowl, blanket. An emerging reader will likely tell a tale based on pictures, but just as likely, he'll notice book print as well.   Grab a baby book, scoop up your kids and hand over the reading reins, if only for a day.

Count down to bedtime with Caldecott Honor Book Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang. Read and play on and off the page... 10 small toes all washed and warm . Count your baby's toes. 9 soft friends in a quiet room. A cat is among them. Point him out. Cat is often one of baby's first words. 8 square windowpanes with falling snow . Ask, 'Who is looking out the window?' The answer? Cat! 7 empty shoes in a short straight row .  There are three pairs of shoes and a single blue sneaker. Point to each pair and count out loud, 'One, two black shoes. One, two white shoes. One, two red shoes. One... Oh-oh! One blue shoe. One! Where is the other one?' 6 pale seashells hanging down . Ask baby, 'Where is the cat?' She might point to the answer. 5 round buttons on a yellow gown .  1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Eyes spy the missing sneaker.  4 sleepy eyes which open and close . Count the eyes on the page. Point to baby's eyes and yours. One, two. One, two. 3 loving kisses on c...

Twinkle, twinkle! is an amazing baby ™ book for babies 3 to 18 months of age based on the nursery song "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Star-shaped cut-outs and sparkling foil inserts dominate the patterned pages. Bright and eye-catching, they say in a not-so-quiet way, REACH OUT AND READ. Babies pat, poke and point their way through thick board pages.

Ten topsy turvy toddlers star in Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes... , a 10-page board book by Annie Kubler based on the nursery song of the same name. When baby starts pointing (at about 9 months of age) it's time to start asking, "Where's Baby's nose?" and introduce this whimsical action book.

Mrs. Mustard's Baby Faces , by Jane Wattenberg, is an accordion-style concept book for babies. Baby faces, fourteen in all, float across bright, patterned pages. Seven happy. Seven sad. Reading to newborns is as much about one-sided chatter and gaze sharing as it is about pictures and print on a page. As your baby regards each face, make up a silly story. "Why is this baby so crabby? Maybe he had beans for breakfast!" Imitate page expressions and see if your baby, in turn, imitates you. Be a ham. EXAGGERATE! Mrs. Mustard's Baby Faces  was  first published in 1989. It was re-released in 2007 with updated graphics. Who is Mrs. Mustard? I've sent a note to the author, asking. I'll let you know if I hear back. 

I t was a dark and stormy night on Plum Street . Sam, a bear cub, peers out the window. It's time for bed. "Ready now, Sam?"  (Asks Mrs. Bear. )  "Oh, no," said Sam. "I'm waiting." For what?  Mrs. Bear gently persists. She reads his favorite book, arranges his covers and stuffed animals, serves up two glasses of milk...   book, blanket, friends, milk . Sam playfully resists. I' m still waiting . For what? A kiss good night! Amy Hest's writing takes aim at the heart and experiences of very young children. Kiss Good Night 's homey cadence is sprinkled with rhyme and alliteration. She subtly introduces basic concepts- colors and numbers. Illustrator Anita Jeram's expressive pictures team perfectly with the text. Your almost-1-year-old will understand just some of the words, but all of the kisses!

Crash! Bang! Wallop!  Language sounds abound as a summer storm blows through a barnyard on a hot steamy day, scattering chicks, kittens and busy bees. Kitty, kitty, kit cat. Skit, skit skat.  Brightly colored characters dance across warm brown pages. After the storm: Cooler, Quieter. Late. Late. Later. No more skit. No more scatter.   Chicky Chicky Chook Chook by Cathy MacLennan is a perfect nap time read-aloud. Published first in hardcover (2007), a board edition was released in 2009 with five fuzzy chicks on the cover.  P.S. Does anyone know what a moggy is?

Babies love to read about themselves. Here is their chance! Some snippets . In Helen Oxenbury's I see , a toddler scrunches down and looks at a leaping frog. In I hear , he smiles, listening to the drum-drum of the rain from under his umbrella. I can is filled with everyday doings: sitting, crawling, jumping, waving. In I touch , Oxenbury's babies pat a cat, pick up a wriggling worm, and roll over a ball. She writes just one word per page, leaving the story telling to you. Babies and toddlers listen with a wiggle, a babble, and a leap (frog). Two-year- olds are apt to tell short tales of their own!

A cow says MOO. A sheep says BAA. Three singing pigs say La La La! "No, no!" you say, "That isn't right. The pigs say OINK all day and night." Sandra Boynton's rhythmic, rhyming, RIOTOUS writing is music to young babies' ears. Read about the author/illustrator turned lyricist and her latest projects here . Day four brings more!

Who are they? One sheep. Two pigs. Three dogs. Four cats. Five ducks. That's who! Tana Hoban introduces babies to the shapes of critters in her black and white book, Who Are They? , a wonderful high contrast book for very young babies. The simple silhouettes inspire storytelling. Who Are They? doubles as a counting and wordless picture book for young preschoolers. Hand it to your 2- or 3-year-old and say, Read me a story . Day two is through!

Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr. wrote in his memoir, The Dreaming Game (2004), "In the fall of 1938 my mother began to imagine a revolutionary new kind of book for babies." His mother, Dorothy Kunhardt, captured these imaginings on cardstock in Pat the Bunny . The book was an immediate success, due in part to its unique voice- Kunhardt wrote from the baby's point of view. She was a field researcher, an (unschooled!) ethnographer studying early childhood development. In 1937, following the birth of her fourth child, Kunhardt started taking notes. She recorded "literally thousands" of bits of information about Edith's toddling development... What makes her laugh? What captures her attention? What kind of play does she return to over and over again? She observed first hand Edith's hands-on learning style. Kunhardt became the first writer to thoughtfully conceive a novelty book for babies. Copies of the first edition reached bookstores in time for Christmas, 1940. ...

for illustrating my blog header! Holly's first picture book, Mama's Bayou , will be released to bookstores on February 15th. View book trailer here .