When I was about eight months pregnant with The Bean I really started going crazy with buying things for her like books. I wanted to be prepared! Nobody told me that a baby really couldn’t care less if you read to them until they’re a few months old at least. On the other hand, a lot of literature says to start reading to your baby right away, to help with their development or whatever. So, yeah, I bought a lot of books then, and I’ve bought even more since.
Some of these books were hits, some weren’t. Here are a few of the hits.
Ten Little Monkeys: At first this wasn’t such a big hit. She really couldn’t care less, and we quickly tired of reading it to her – it’s um, a bit repetitive. But shortly before her first birthday, something happened, and she started liking this book A LOT. To the point where now she even asks for it in her crib, just to sleep with. It got more fun to read to her, too, once she could talk a little and would shake her little finger and say “NOOOO!” along with the doctor, who warns the monkeys to stop jumping on the bed. Overall, a great investment of a few dollars.
Row, Row Your Boat: There’s a series of these books by Annie Kubler, including Ten Little Fingers and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. They were a big hit with Bean right from the start. She loves to sing “Row Your Boat” and hold our hands and sway back and forth – she started doing that as soon as she could stand up. But for some reason, she still likes to read these books too. I remember the first time she actually recognized the book by its cover, when she was about 18 months old (there are other books exactly the same size and shape in her library). She grabbed it from the shelf and brought it to me, saying “Row row? Row row?” I was blown away.
Counting Kisses: Bean didn’t care too much about this book at first, and to be honest, we avoided getting it out simply because I bought the hardcover version (with normal paper pages) instead of the board book version. We learned early on that if you’re going to read with your baby, USE A BOARD BOOK. Babies love to grab pages and fold, spindle, and mutilate them. A LOT. This is a charming book though, and in the past few months Bean has grown to love it. She calls it “Baby Book” (because it’s a story about a baby who needs to be kissed) and asks for it in her crib at night too. I’ll give it to her and she’ll read it to herself, providing adorable narration for each image (“Baby is cwying! Puppy give kiss!”). A good bedtime story, since it ends with baby going to sleep.
The Monster at the End of This Book: this was a gift from my sister, who told me that her daughters (now teenagers) loved it. It stars Grover, so right away it was familiar to Bean, and my sister was right – she loves it! Another one that she asks me to read over and over, then asks for at night to look at in her crib as she falls asleep. From the inscribed “This Little Golden Book belongs to…” on the inside cover to the illustrations of characters from other Golden Books on the back, Bean eats this thing up. And it’s fun to do Grover’s voice, which is an essential part of the experience. No, really!
Children’s books are really a great investment. They cost so little, and get read and re-read so much; plus the educational benefits are enormous. I love it when Bean brings me a book, climbs up on my lap, and demands that I read it with her – even if it IS “Ten Little Monkeys” for the 8,000th time.
