Growing a Reader: Kids' Books, Tips and More

At six months pregnant, I have recently turned my attention towards building a small home library to greet our expectant little bundle of joy.

I’ve broken my list into two: board books and regular picture books. There’s a reason for this other than my obsessive compulsive ways.

Board books, and their indestructible formats, are the first aid in teaching children about books as objects; unbending pages make it easier for baby’s small clumsy fingers to grab onto, while the book’s solidity can withstand baby’s urges to chew.

Good board books: include brightly coloured illustrations; feature familiar objects, which babies will begin to recognize on the page; and present simple concepts like the alphabet or numbers.

With that in mind, I plan on investing in the following titles in board book format:  

Before they learn to snatch and grab, babies remain a captive audience. Hence, this is an opportunity to share books that I love with my child, since the baby will have no choice but to sit in my lap for these longer stories! Below is a list of some of the picture books I’m planning on welcoming my baby home with:  

Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran; illustrated by Barbara Cooney

There’s a wonderful sense of freedom that resonates throughout the pages of McLerran’s book. I find it touching that she uses her mother’s childhood recollections of an imaginary place as the seed of inspiration for this book.

The Story of Ferdinand by Leaf Munro

Who doesn’t want to read about a gentle bull and his unexpected peaceful nature? I love the black and white illustrations in this classic Spanish title and find myself more and more taken by Ferdinand's shy quiet charm every time I read it. 

Frederic by Leo Lionni

For me, this is a profound book that speaks to the importance of art in our society – a message that I’d like to seep into my own baby’s brain from as early an age as possible! It takes all kinds to make a society work, and Frederick is a lovely reminder of this fact.

Hush! A Thai Lullaby by Minfong Ho; pictures by Holly Meade

What list is complete without a good bedtime book? This Caldecott winning title is one of my favourite reads for putting a baby to bed in part because it’s chock full of early literacy goodness: new vocabulary, rhyming text, phonological awareness etc.

Anansi The Spider: A Tale From The Ashanti by Gerald McDermott

I absolutely love the vivid illustrations in this book. Besides introducing baby to an iconic folk hero in Anansi the spider, I find the language and cadence of the text a real joy to read aloud.