Collecting Baby Books

Research shows that reading baby books to your infant can enhance their imagination and inspire a curiosity and love of reading that will last a lifetime.  There have been many studies done on the subject of reading to infants and toddlers, and the results are overall quite impressive.  For example, youngsters who were read to add a very early age tend to do better in school later on.

But it is not only academically that children benefit from reading.  There is much evidence that mothers who read to their babies develop a stronger bond with the child, resulting in a more secure youngster.  Many mothers will even begin reading to their babies in utero.  Here too, there is evidence that babies who are read to before they are born develop quicker and are more well-adjusted than children who were not read to.

Because baby books can be such an important part of your infant's development, it is a good idea to begin collecting your own little library even before your child is born.  Baby books come in all different types, including board books, plastic bath books, picture books, pop-up books and others.  Many of these stories are classics that have been enjoyed by children and parents for many generations.

But there are also modern baby books, and many of these are bound to become future classics.  The styles of the modern books vary from hip and edgy, to cute and cuddly.  So if you are not a fan of the traditional baby books, don't worry; both you and your child will likely adore many of the newest generation of "cool baby" stories.

A couple of the most popular of the new books for infants and toddlers include "Goodnight Moon" by Margret Wise Brown, and "Big Little, Quiet Loud" by Lisa Patricelli.  These two books in particular have proven to be favorites with both babies and mothers.  You may also want to try "Knuffle Bunny" by Mo Willems, or "Kitten's First Full Moon" by Kevin Henkes.

Of course, you don't want to overlook the classics when selecting books for your baby either.  The Dr. Seuss books, in particular, are loved by most children, and can even be fun for mom.

But after you have begun to collect a respectable number of books, you will no doubt begin to get requests to read certain titles over and over again.  Children don't take long at all to discover which stories are their favorites, and you will probably even notice that newborn babies respond in different ways to different books.

For example, some stories make cause baby to become calm and still, and even help them fall asleep.  But others may cause your infant to stare wide-eyed in suspense and excitement.  While both of these results can be positive, obviously, you will want to read the calming books and night to help put baby to bed, and the “excitable” books during the day or after baby’s nap.

After a while, your nursery library will probably be overflowing with wonderful stories for your child to enjoy.  Take advantage of some of the newest generation of endearing baby books to both fascinate and calm your newborn.