Book Tips for Babies and Young Children: Getting Beyong Chunky Books for Baby

Like everyone else, we started with the soft, scrunchy books like the Priddy Books (Big Rex and Friends, Fuzzy Bee and Friends, etc) and then moved on to the Chunky books with the heavy cardboard pages, thinking that the content would improve.

We were so wrong! Based on content alone, nearly every Chunky book we've purchased for our son is good only for eating (which is precisely what my son does)! Granted, some of these books are only full of pictures (Fine - they teach baby images, critters, shapes, and colors!), but when it comes to actual stories, I find it a shame that this is all we have to rely on for Baby story-time!

So, rather than spend an entire article griping about the dearth in appropriate reading material for my son, I'd like to recommend some wonderful books (some you may remember from your own childhood!) to other parents facing this horrible dilemma!

The Happy Book by Diane Muldrow and Patti Ann Harris (1999) - my son loves this book! It has scratch and sniff pages, different flaps and cloths and textures, and the final pages glow in the dark!

That's not my Lion… by Fiona Watts and Rachel Wells (2001) - another touchy-feely book. If your child loves animals as much as mine does, this is a great book for keeping attention focused and for learning new textures and body parts!

Hippos Go Berserk by Sandra Boynton (1977) - this is a fantastic counting story and a rare find - older children and even adults enjoy this rare find!

The Adventures of Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson (1955) - I found a version that has four of these classic stories in one book at Borders.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (1969) - another classic! This book has interesting art and a cute storyline. Great for children of all ages!

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1988) - this is one of my all-time favorites - talk about building the imagination!

Verdi, StellaLuna - both books by Janell Cannon (2001, 1998) - these are great critter stories! StellaLuna also comes in pop-up editions.

The Rainbow Fish (multiple books) by Marcus Pfister - I love these stories and the watercolor images are beautiful. I've also found these oversized and in Spanish (French is available as well!).

Heverly by Kevin Yagher (2001) - my mom got this book for my son. It's a great story and helpful I think for any child that has lost a parent. The graphics are amazing (the author worked in special effects) - my son just loves the characters!

These are just a few of our favorites - hope you enjoy them as much as we do!