Have you grown up being read to?I 100% did! My mom always said that children’s speech directly correlates with the number of books they listened to growing up or read themselves! I hope her statement is accurate. Otherwise, all those hours of reading were wasted on me!
I knew the alphabet by the time I was three. I am convinced that it was only because my mom and grandmas read me this excessive amount of books.
That is what can happen when an only child marries an only child and they decide to have one and only daughter!
I will have to FaceTime my dear parents and find out what they read to me when I was a baby, but I clearly remember, I had all kinds of books, from Astrid Lindgren and Hans Christian Andersen’s classic stories to Little Prince and the Tales of Uncle Remus.
Somehow my parents were drawn to foreign writers.
Most of my friends who married foreigners and had babies overseas chose to teach them at least two languages, so they had to read to their kiddos in more than one language. It requires dedication and effort. Their kids haven’t started talking until later but were magically able to communicate in both languages. It was always fascinating to me!
Neither of my parents spoke any foreign languages, but they made sure I took English since I was 5.
Newborns don’t know the letters, but it’s never too early to introduce them to books! Reading is critical when it comes to language development and exposure to new words. Reading is also a fantastic tool for developing imagination.
Think about all the books you read before you ended up watching a movie! Weren’t those characters already developed for you and even felt like your enemies or friends?
Movies can show characters’ actions and emotions very well, especially if there is a reasonable budget and some gifted actors are hired. However, unlike books, they often lack in portraying thoughts, reasoning, and persuasion. And that’s why reading is so important!
The more words and sentence structures babies get exposed to every day and every month, the higher chance they have to develop those essential language skills and achieve academic success later.
Since I got pregnant I was looking at different baby books at Target and Red Balloon! Many of you know how much I love books (it might be a consequence of my grad school)!
I had some beautiful baby showers early this fall and several hostesses encouraged all the guests to bring baby books ( used or new ) instead of cards! I have never heard of that brilliant idea, but let me tell you, our friends truly supplied us with awesome books! I was very grateful.
Moreover, since I didn’t grow up in the Midwest, I have yet to learn what baby books are considered classic here and what books transcended generations.
I will share some of those books with you and you will have to tell me if any of them are new to you or if most of them are tested and passed quality control.
Baby Books Selection:
- We’re Going on a Bear Hunt | 2. Pumpkin Pie | 3. Guess How Much I Love You | 4. Who Sang the First Song? | 5. Nevertheless, She Wore It | 6. Don’t Forget to Remember | 7. Giraffes Can’t Dance | 8. The Jesus’ Storybook Bible | 9. Counting with Barefoot Critters | 10. My Little Brave Girl | 11. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates | 12. Love You Forever |
- A is for Awesome | 2. A B C What Can She Be? | 3. Dream Big, Little One | 4. Made for Me | 5. Barnyard Dance! | 6. Princesses Wear Pants! | 7. Farm Friends | 8. Itsy Bitsy Christmas | 9. The Smart Cookie | 10. I love you, Mommy and Daddy | 11. Snuggle Puppy | 12. The Very Hungry Caterpillar |
