Archive for the ‘Books for Babies’ Category

Reading is an important activity which you cannot start soon enough with your little ones! It is even recommended to try reading to your baby during pregnancy to help your baby recognise the sound of their parents voices, It is never too early to start!

Although little ones may not fully understand the full content of books, there are ways in which to spark interest in reading from birth onwards. By introducing picture books which include the use of repetition and rhyme, your little one can have their visual senses stimulated whilst listening to a rhythmic and memorable rhyming stories which  they will over time remember and treasure.

Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds released ‘The Big Red Bath’ in March 2005, available in a board book edition, this charming book uses repetitive rhymes and onomatopoeia’s to tell a story of two children, Ben and Bella, an assortment of animals on a journey through the imagination. The pictures are visually stimulating and captivate children’s interest. ‘The Big Red Bath’ won the ‘Stockport Schools Book Award for Early Years’.

Following ‘The Big Red Bath’s’ success, Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds released the sequel to this  ‘The Big Blue Bath’ in October 2007.

The Big Blue Train features bright, exuberant pictures which capture the imagination. Once again Jarman and Reynolds make use of repetition and rhyme, creating a rhythmic storyline featuring the well loved characters Ben and Bella.

The Big Red Bath is available from www.amazon.co.uk for £4.10, The Big Blue Train is also available from www.amazon.co.uk for £4.39. These brilliant books are ideal for reading aloud from bump to birth and beyond!

Children love books, it is even suggested that parents should read to their little ones even before birth to encourage voice familiarity.

Although reading is a fantastic, educational and inspirational experience for both children and adults, it can often be difficult to read to an infant as they are far more interested in trying to grab at the pages and chew on the corners of the book.

Rather than battle on trying to read books to your infant whilst holding them out of their reach, why not try introducing a hard back, board book which children are able to hold, touch and feel without the worrying of screwing up or ripping pages.

‘That’s not my…’ books from Usborne offer infants and children the chance to touch and explore a range of textures and materials whilst sharing a story. Usborne have produced a wide range of these books based upon varying animals and characters e.g bears, dogs, dinosaurs, monkeys and much more.

Available for only £3.60 from www.amazon.co.uk the ‘That’s not my…’ series enable your child to really get into their books from an early age.

Linzi, Mum to Ollie (2 years) and George (7 months) kindly took the time to review some reading for MBM. Linzi tells us more about the reading experience…

One of the unexpected delights of becoming a parent is being able to read and enjoy some wonderful children’s books. I am a self confessed book worm, and it is great to now have a legitimate reason to browse the books in the children’s section of the bookshop! The Snail and the Whale is one of my favourite books for kids, and luckily it is also one of my 2.5 year old son’s favourite books!
Written in lilting rhyme, it is the story of a sea snail and a humpback whale who go sailing together. The snail sees some wonderful things in her travels but is left feeling very small by what she sees. This is remedied when it is only she who can save the whale when he  needs help. This is a story of travel, friendship, the vast beauty of the earth and most importantly; even small things can make a big difference.
As with the modern classic also by this author, The Gruffalo, the text is in full rhyme which conveys the story brilliantly and with wonderful rhythm. Such passages like: 

“This is the whale who came one night
When the tide was high and the stars were bright.
A humpback whale, immensely long,
Who sang to the snail a wonderful song
Of shimmering ice and coral caves
And shooting stars and enormous waves.”

make this a firm favourite in this family and the rhythm also makes the book appeal to younger children.

The illustrations by Axel Scheffler capture wonderfully the story and the beauty of the sea. My son loves to point out the different characters; the snail, the whale, the cat, the children, the fire engine. The colour is rich and vibrant and really brings it to life.

We love this book so much that when our cat destroyed our first copy we immediately went out and replaced it! If you only buy one book for your child this year, make it this one.

MBM would like to thank Linzi, Ollie and George for sharing their thoughts and opinions with the magazine. You can buy your copy of ‘The Snail and the Whale’ by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler from www.amazon.co.uk for £2.98 or £1.39 from the Amazon Marketplace (a bargain book if we say so ourselves!)

Children love to express themselves through creative art, often though their work perishes over time as paint becomes faded, materials used to stick and cut start to peel or flake away and sadly most of the work that children produce over time becomes worn or sadly finds its way into the bin due to lack of storage space.

One way to prevent losing precious memories of your children’s creative side is to create a ‘Tick Tock Book’. ‘Tick Tock Books’ are a publishing service for parents. They create bookstore-quality picture books, rich with full-colour illustrations made from your child’s artworks and keepsakes.

Mums Baby Magazine gives Tick Tock Books the thumbs up, prices range from £40.00 to £90.00 depending upon the size of the book that you wish to purchase. These books books are not only ideal for parents but for close family too, a perfect gift for Christmas. Get yours now from www.ticktockbooks.com

Babies may not take in all the information that you read to them from a book but they do enjoy looking at the pictures and colours. They also love listening to your voice as you read.

Bring a book to life for your baby by purchasing one of these monster puppet books.

Although it is suggested that these books are good for 3-5 year olds they are actually great for babies (when supervised and held by a parent) as they can explore the textures of the monsters fur and enjoy the funny faces that the monster puppet is able to make.

Available for £6.69 from www.amazon.co.uk these books are fab for entertaining babies, toddlers and parents!