The Baby Book Nook

I've been on the road . I stopped by The Strand, a large independent bookstore in NYC, to look at their board book offerings . The 18 miles of a isles were packed with grown-ups and kids a nd me, plump with batting to fight the cold and windy streets. I barely fit! I shopped with haste . H ere is what I found.   The Noisy Book (2012) by Soledad Bravi is a near-perfect word learning book for ones and twos. Why near? Research suggests young 1-year-olds learn best from photographs. Bravi's page design --one object per 2-page spread-- holds constant, assuring a single point of view for book talk.  A colorful patchwork of thumbnail prints, drawn from The Noisy Book 's interior, blankets the inside front and back pages, creating a wonderful opportunity for point-and-label play and word review. I spied a board edition of The House in the Night (2011) by Susan Marie Swanson  and Caldecott Medal winner Beth Krommes. The book's gentle cadence and warm glow make