Build a Board Book

Toddlers love to read about themselves, which is one of the reasons why books such as Baby's Day by Michel Blake and I Can by Helen Oxenbury work. Imagine handing your tike a board book starring—drum roll, please—them! Pint Size Productions makes this possible. Click the company name to find out how.

What might your baby's board book look like? How about one that pictures family members doing whacky, unexpected things? Does Mom do the cooking? Take a close-up of Dad stirring at the stove. Does Dad read the paper? Take a peek-a-boo view of mom peering over newsprint. Picture Grandpa pushing the stroller, Grandma with a fishing pole. If you play with family stereotypes, you'll likely tickle your toddler's funny bone. A directorial tip: Dress cast members in bright, colorful clothing for maximum color contrast on the page.

How about a book about your baby's day? Picture and label her waking, eating, playing, reading, laughing, hugging. Time for bed! Sleeping. "Again!"

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What Is a Concept Book?

The short (or long or tall) of it: A concept book is a picture book that teaches a broad concept to young readers. Examples? Alphabet books, number books, books about c o l o r s , opposites, books about feelings and emotions. A concept is an idea, an abstract notion. Here's the rub. Very young readers are concrete thinkers, very "here and now." Luckily concept books do not have to teach the alphabetic principle, or algebra, or color theory. They teach what toddlers and young preschoolers can see, hear, touch, and feel - the upper and lowercase, quiet and loud, and happy and sad face of things. Three concept books by DENISE FLEMING: LUNCH (1998) from Henry Holt and Co. Concept: Colors. A toothsome mouse, called Mouse, eats his way through the primary and secondary colors and then some. The pictures are deliciously big. Bon appetit! The emergent literacy bent: The text is sparse and the letters large, fostering print awareness. Point out a few words as yo

No Time Like the Present

Give yourself and your baby a present. Time together, apart from others time. Quiet time. No ring tones. No sass tones. No Ho! Ho! Ho! Quiet. One-on-one book time. One-on-one look time. Sleepy head, head on shoulder time. Quiet LOUD (2003) by Leslie Patricelli .

All A Board! All About Books for Babies

Hello! I've moved to Poughkeepsie (New York, not Arkansas) and started a free online magazine about... drum roll... books for babies! It's called All A Board! and can be accessed via a title search at issuu.com or by clicking here . It offers a peek at upcoming board titles and age icons that help match baby to books based on developmental age. Articles focus on the people that make board books happen and early book sharing. The first issue launched just days ago! What's on top of your read-aloud stack?

The Baby Book Nook

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