Starting your child early with books is always a good idea. But what are the best books for very young children?
I look back to Nina’s baby days to share some tips about which baby books would work best. I always wanted her to love books first and foremost, so when I was pregnant, instead of shopping for baby clothes, I spent most of my time researching and purchasing books. So if you’re looking into building your baby’s library before they arrive, read on!
High Contrast Books
Either this is a new thing, or I just wasn’t aware of it – but I never got Nina these high contrast books. I’m just including these because I see them everywhere now. I also like the concept and would have gotten Nina some had I known about them back then. They are intentionally black and white with simple pictures, optimised for baby’s vision development in those early months. Very young babies don’t see very far or very clear yet – so these books would captivate them best. These would be good for them up to 6-9 months old. Here are some examples of high contrast books for babies:
Picture Word Books
I loved these picture books with words when Nina was a baby. Sure, showing her real items would be the best way to improve her vocabulary, but pictures open up an unlimited amount of things we can show them, especially in those early days when you don’t take them out as much yet. I always stuck with real photos rather than drawings because very young children didn’t have the knowledge of what these everyday items look like yet. For example, I don’t want Nina to think that a strawberry is pink with a smiley face and then she doesn’t know what it is when she sees a real strawberry. Here are some of my favourites, all from Priddy Books:
Indestructibles
It is exactly what it is: a series of books that are chew-proof, rip-proof, non-toxic and washable. I got into these after baby Nina managed to rip apart several books (good memories lol) and they were really good. They have many titles and even more now than when Nina was a baby. Here are some of my favourites:
Interactive Books
I also love interactive books for young children. I just wanted to instil a sense of love for books into Nina at this age, and these interactive books she definitely loved. These ones with buttons and sounds were particularly popular with her as a baby:
Bath Books
We were gifted one when Nina was a baby and I loved the idea. She used to hate baths so these books were helpful in making bath time more fun. I also loved that we could have more reading time in the bathroom. There are even ones that can change colours when they get wet! Ah, just writing about it brings me back to those bath times when Nina was a baby. She was so fascinated by these colour changing books.
There must be countless bath books you can choose from, but here are some of our favourites:
Personalised Books
Personalised books are just the best for every age, aren’t they? There’s just something special about personalised books, I just love them. We have ordered so many from Wonderbly and they’re all so beloved in our household. Nina is always so excited to see herself in the story. They have so many options for all ages and these are our favourites for 0-3 years old (click on each picture to get to the page where you can personalised the exact book):
You can peruse the whole line of their personalised books for 0-3 years old here: https://www.wonderbly.com/landing-pages/personalized-products/personalized-books-0-3-range-page
They have also grouped the books in specific age ranges for your convenience:
Don’t forget that you can use my code BPTG2EN to get 15% off!