Children who are introduced to books early tend to thrive in life. There are several benefits of exposure to the magical world of books, but our favourite is the bond that it builds between the caregiver and child. Reading to babies right from when they're in the womb makes them associate reading to comfort. This will in turn make them want to pick up more books and read because that's their safe place. It's their happy place. Here is detailed list of books to help new parents kickstart their reading journey with they little ones.
0-1 years
High contrast Books
1. Black & White by Tana Hoban (foldout book)
2. Baby Touch Animals/Faces/Vehicles
3. Look Look by Peter Linenthal
4. Into the Wild by Wildpaper (foldout book)
5. Cluck and Moo by Frida Bing
Bold and Bright Illustrations
1. Patterns by Emily Bolam
2. Peek-a Who? by Lina Laden
Sensory Books
1. Baby Touch - Tails (cloth book)
2. Touch and Feel Wild Animals - Om Books
3. That's not my series - Usborne touchy- feely books
4. Color me series - Quarto Publishing (Bath Books)
5. Snowie Soft Cloth Books Series (Cloth book with crinkle page)
Classics
1. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
2. I am a Bunny Richard Scarry
3. No Matter What by Debi Gliori
4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
5. Brown Bear by Eric Carle
For babies 1-2 years we recommend a mix of all kinds of books. But the books that work best for this age range are Montessori-aligned books. So what are books Montessori-aligned?
1. Books that are reality based. No talking animals or mythical creatures like dragons and unicorns, fairies etc.
2. Books that are rich in vocabulary.
3. Beautiful pictures and/illustrations.
4. Books that are age appropriate - size of book, format, length of sentences etc.
5. Books that honour diversity.
Here is a list of books that are a massive hit.
1-2 years
Montessori aligned books
1. Baby Talk by Stella Blackstone
2. Baby Faces by DK publishing
3. Baby Loves | Baby Up Baby Down | Making
4. Faces (mirror inside) by Abrams Appleseed
5. Baby Dance by Ann Taylor
6. Hello Baby by Mem Fox
7. Pooni Pooni Where are you? by Manjula Padmanabhan
8. Dosa Amma Dosa by Anupama S. Iyer
9. Cheep Cheep by Sowmya Menon
10. Black Bird Yellow Sun by Steve Light
11. Quiet Loud by Leslie Patricelli
12. Daddy/ Mummy by Leslie Patricelli
13. Potty by Leslie Patricelli
14. Planes by Byron Barton
15. Sunrise, Moonrise by Betsy Thompson
16. Mummy and Baby - Little learners
17. My first Yoga by DK books
18. If You're Happy and You Know It - Child's Play
20. How Does Baby Feel? by Karen Katz
21. Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers
22. Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett
23. Baby Goes to Market by Angela Brookbank
24. Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn
25. One Gorilla by Anthony Browne
1-2 year olds
Books Celebrating Babies
The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin
Open House for Butterflies by Ruth Krauss
Fun Format Books
In my Jungle by Sara Gillingham (finger puppet book)
First Explorers Series by Campbell - Push, Pull, Slide
Busy Series by Campbell - Push, Pull, Slide
Freddy the Frog by Axel Scheffler
Usborne Wind Up Series (with wind-up toy)
Munch by Matthew Van Fleet
Classics/ Modern Classics
Eric Carle Books
Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose by Julia Donaldson
A Busy Day for Birds Lucy Cousins
The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton
Basic Concepts
Baby Touch Numbers by Penguin Publishing
The Very Hungry Caterpillar 123 - Eric Carle
Hello World Series by Jill MacDonald
We Love Each Other by Yusuke Yonezu (shapes)
Seek and Count by Yusuke Yonezu
My First Words - Let's Get Talking! By DK Publishing
My First Book of Action Words - Om Kidz