Read good books, have fun, and learn. So quick! Grab a good board book. Snuggle up with your baby. Get ready to have great fun and learn, too!
C.S. Lewis said, “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”
A good story is a good story whether you are 2 or 92 years old! This article from the New Yorker magazine helps explain some of Lewis’ quote.
It talks about how Sandra Boynton, children’s author and illustrator extraordinaire (IMHO..) actually appeals to adults in her writing, as well as, children.
She has always been one of my favorite children’s book authors. Her books are such great fun to read aloud.
My children enjoyed Sandra Boynton books and now my grandchildren do, too. Finally, after all these years, I understand why I enjoy them so much.
By the way, Eric Carle is also at the top of my author list. In a future post, I will share some of my favorite read aloud books for babies.
However, in this post, we will be talking about books we read in the Suzuki Early Childhood (SECE) Baby Class.
Why Choose Good Books?
There are many, many books that you could read to your baby. They are cute and colorful, but often don’t really engage the mind and senses with interesting ideas and lessons to be learned.
You will want to read good quality books to your child. Then your baby AND you will have the best reading experience possible.
Good quality books will offer educational concepts. Not only that, they will be incredibly entertaining and pleasant to read. Both of you will have fun and learn.
“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”
C.S. Lewis
How to Choose a Good Book for Fun and Learning
Choosing a good book is not really a mystery. First, a good way to tell if a book will be of interest to you is to read the first couple of pages. Second, If it catches your attention IMMEDIATELY, it’s pretty certain you will like the rest of the story. This method of choosing a good book rarely disappoints.
Next, you can use this same idea when choosing a book to read to your baby. Of course, keep in mind that books for babies are much shorter and you may have to read through the entire book.
But, if it kept your attention the whole way through, chances are good it will keep your baby’s attention as well. You and your baby will read good books, have fun, and learn together.
Checklist to Find a Good Quality Book
Here is a simple checklist to help you choose a good quality book. Be sure:
- the subject matter or theme and the text are appropriate
- illustrations are clear, uncluttered, colorful, and in contrasting colors (this allows the pictures and words to stand out from the background of the page)
- the book is easy to handle and durable, (i.e. think board books!)
- the words, pictures, and overall design of the book make sense together
- the text has a rhythm and rhyme, as well as, patterns and repetition in the words and pictures
Also, you should consider choosing touch and feel sensory books because they are especially interesting for very young babies.
SECE Baby Class List of Good Books
SECE Baby Class books are chosen very carefully. Consequently, they are educational and especially engaging to read for you and your baby.
This list is always changing and Baby Class Teachers add new books all the time. However, this list of books is read regularly in the Baby Class.
SECE Baby Class Book List
- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (HarperCollinsPublishers)
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Scholastic Inc.)
- The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle (Scholastic Inc.)
- Where Is the Green Sheep? by Men Fox (Harcourt Inc.)
- The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss (HarperCollinsPublishers)
- Oh, A-Hunting We Will Go by John Langstaff (Aladdin)
- Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff (Aladdin)
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. (Henry Holt and Company, Inc.)
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. & John Archambault (Simon & Schuster)
- Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins (Random House)
- The Napping House by Audrey Wood (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
You may already have some of these books. Therefore, when you choose new books to read to your baby, use the Checklist to Find a Good Quality Book and SECE Baby Class Book List. These will help you to select good books, have fun, and learn!
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“Your Musical Baby” would like to add to the Baby Class book list. Share your favorite books that you read to your baby in the Comments.
On the “Beautiful Heart Musical Journey” with you,
Susan
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