It's never too soon: books to use with the very young
Babies (0 to 18 months)
- Remember that in books for very small babies colours should be bright, with definite contrasts between colours, or black and white
- Look for books about families, food, getting dressed, toys, animals, cars, trucks and objects found around the home.
- Babies like faces - look for different ages and ethnic groups.
- When looking at a book with your baby, point and name the object in the picture - talk about it.
- Rhymes, rhythm, repetition and sounds will all help your baby learn to speak and communicate
- Look for nursery rhymes and lullabies; lap games; hand, foot and finger games; books with flaps or holes; different textures to touch. Board books.
Catalogue search for Pop-up books & Toy and movable books
Try these
- Clare Beaton
- Playtime rhymes for little people
- Vince Cross
- Sing a song of sixpence
- Illustrated by Rosemary Wells
- My very first Mother Goose
Here comes Mother Goose- Compiled by Kathleen Lines
- Lavender's blue: a book of nursery rhymes
- Nick Butterworth
- When it's time for bed
- When there's work to do
- When we go shopping
- When we play together
- Rod Campbell
- Farm babies
- Farm chase
- Fluffy kitten
- Here's Buster, but where's Teddy?
- Naughty puppy
- Pop-up dear zoo
- Lucy Cousins
- Country animals
- Farm animals
- Garden animals
- Maisy likes dancing
- Maisy likes music
- Maisy's best friends
- Maisy's noisy day
- Pet animals
- Smile, Maisy!
- Squeak! Squeak! Maisy
- Emma Dodd
- Dog's birthday
- Colin and Jacqui Hawkins
- Hungry baby
- Playful baby
- Sleepy baby
- Soapy baby
- Eric Hill
- Spot at home
- Spot in the garden
- Where's Spot?
- Tana Hoban
- Black on white
- White on black
- Baby's world
- Baby's world of nature
- Red, blue, yellow shoe
- Who are they?
- Mick Inkpen
- Kipper and the egg
- Kipper's egg
- Kipper's kite
- Kipper's sticky paws
- Lara Jones
- Goodnight Poppy Cat
- I love hugs
- Playtime Poppy Cat
- Poppy Cat's happy day
- Zoom, zoom Poppy Cat
- Annie Kubler (Child's play)
- Head, shoulders, knees and toes
- If you're happy and you know it
- I'm a dingle-dangle scarecrow
- Ring-a-ring-a-roses
- Row, row, row your boat
- Ten little fingers
- Neal Layton
- Go wild with colours
- Go wild with noises
- Go wild with opposites
- Go wild with patterns
- Sam Lloyd
- Happy dog, sad dog
- Whose tail?
- Margaret Miller
- Baby food
- Baby pets
- Baby talk
- Boo! Baby!
- Get ready, baby
- I love colours
- Peekaboo baby
- What's on my head?
- Anna Nilsen
- Moo cow moo!
- Swim duck swim!
- Tip truck tip!
- Wave baby wave!
- Oxenbury, Helen
- Clap hands
- Helen Oxenbury's big baby book
- I can
- I hear
- I see
- I touch
- Jeanette Rowe
- Yoyo goes next door
- Yoyo's colours
- Yoyo's day
- Yoyo's numbers
- Yoyo's toys
- Louise Rupnik
- Quack! Quack!
- Kaye Umansky
- Wiggle my toes and other action rhymes