Babies and Book Delights

A sure way to bring delight to your heart is to hold your baby on your lap and share a book with them. 

Here's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on the Royal Family Channel, sharing Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Rosenthal with baby Archie in honor of his first birthday and to raise awareness about savethechildren.org and their Save with Stories campaign

Wasn't that delightful? Meghan is demonstrating the number one best tip for sharing books with babies and that is -- to have fun!  And number two is start 'em young - as newborn (or even in-utero). It is never too soon or too young and sharing books is one of the best ways to bond and smile together and grow together in love.

The website Zero to Three  has a great guide to reading to young children - How to Introduce Toddlers and Babies to Books:

1. Have fun.

2. A few minutes is fine, don't worry about finishing the book.

3. Talk or sing about the pictures.

4. Let the child turn the pages.

5. Show your child the cover page and the words in the book.

6. Enliven stories with character voices and body movement.

7. Make the book personal by relating it to your or your baby's life. "I see you have a toy duck and a toy rabbit. I loved my toy rabbit when I was a baby."

8. Ask questions and talk about the book and point out objects or illustrations in the story.

9. Make books a part of the daily routine for your baby.

For suggestions about good books to share with your baby, check out the Babies and Books list compiled by SCCLD Children's Librarians.

While SCCLD has a most excellent collection of books appealing to babies (and parents) - building your baby's own "Home Library" will provide books that belong to the home.  Having a few core titles that are always available on baby's shelf or toy box means having warm, steady, familiar friends always waiting for you. Here are a few titles that I would suggest for baby's home library:

My First Mother Goose

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Goodnight Moon

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The More We Get Together

You Are My Sunshine

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

Where Is Baby's Belly Button?

I Love You Through and Through