I have a daughter who is 7 months and a grandson who is 14 months old. I have a few kiddie books that I read to them often, but I really want to broaden their horizons (and mine, too, truth be told!)
I took my baby to the library the other day and I was overwhelmed by all the choices. I didn’t even know where to begin to start looking. Any suggestions from you parents out there? Thanks!!!
I have a personal love for Sandra Boynton’s books. The Littlest Briston likes to challenge me to “read” her one of them when we’re in the supermarket or anyplace where there are no books around. Haven’t failed to recite one yet.
I’m sorry, I just have to :eek: It was painful enough going from having one largely self-sufficient 5yo back to square one with an infant. The thought of reproducing when your kids are old enough to reproduce makes me writhe in contact-sleep-deprivation! Seriously, though, you go!
As to the question - my 17 month old tends to rip a book out of my hands and chuck it on the floor after two pages. But the one we have gotten all the way through many times is Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton.
The other one I love is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It teaches so much in such an efficient manner: numbers, days of the week, biology!
I had a series of alphabet books for my kids. Bright colorful pictures, one book for each letter of the alphabet. I’d read one to them at night (they were short) and I’d point to a picture and ask them to tell me what it was (bear, box, octopus, flower, tree, boy, shirt, shoe, etc.) They never got bored with them.
Yes. My favorite, which I buy whenever I have an excuse to buy something for a toddler, is Hippos Go Berserk. How can you not love a book called Hippos Go Berserk? 
Another recommendation for the Boynton books. There are two “Greatest Hits” collections, which go for about $20, with 4 board books each. My son loves them. His favorite was a standalone, though, Barnyard Dance. I read it with a country accent and he thinks it’s the greatest thing ever. I feel like Superdad after reading it!
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? provides plenty of opportunity to make silly noises… for the benefit of the kids, of course. The board book is shorter than the regular edition - we have both, and I enjoy being able to pick the version that suits the timeframe I have.
I second The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Possum Magic is one of my favourites - you can probably import it, and the Australian dollar is weak against the US dollar at the moment so it shouldn’t break the bank - looks like it’s cheap on eBay.
We have Elmer The Patchwork Elephant, Where The Wild Things Are, A Fly Went By, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly, The Best Nest, and a whole stack of others that I remember from my childhood.
Her favourite? Any book with photos of babies, like the Fisher Price potty training book that someone gave her, the Baby Einstein book with photos of animals in it, and Cat by Matthew Van Fleet
My parents claim that, when I was a wee lass, I made them read “The King, The Mice, and The Cheese” so many times that my dad started reading it backwards to avoid dying of sheer boredom. I, of course, reject all of these slanderous claims.
Happy not was king the but.
My sister and I were also big fans of Millions of Cats.
Since my dad’s an entomologist, he would also recommend anything with insects in it. You have to get them young, when they’re still larvae.
My favorites for that age are the classic surrealist piece Goodnight Moon and Mo Willems’ Don’t Let the Pigeon… series, in which the pigeon tries to convince the reader to let him do naughty things, such as drive a bus and stay up late.
Also deserving a mention is Inside, Outside, Upside Down, the book I drove my parents crazy with by demanding over and over when I was that age.
There should be a section in the library of picture books. Pick a handful and you probably won’t get a bad one in the bunch. You can also look for Caldecott winners. Some of my personal favorites are David Weisner and Chris Van Allsburg.
At the age of the children you mentioned, pretty much anything you read to them is going to be successful. Sitting on a cozy lap, tucked into someone’s arm and listening to a soothing voice are all equally important to what is being read. Congratulations on getting them off to a great start. Their future teachers thank you/
Thanks for all the recommendations! I will definitely check into the Sandra Boynton books, I had forgotten about her!