If you're looking for a great present for a child you know, or you're just looking for an excuse to treat your own baby, there just don't seem to be many options until they're well into their toddler years.
Clothes, simple toys and cot blankets are all very nice, but once you've had a baby shower or a Christening, you're laden with more knitted goods than you will ever need! This is when a book really comes into its own because even if you don't 'read' it with your child now, it doesn't go off and doesn't take up too much room!
If you are looking for a special gift book, there are some fabulous hardback editions of nursery rhyme and fairy tale collections to be had. But you'll quickly find that it's the bold, bright colours and squidgy, squeaky, fluffy delights to be had in simple baby books, that will get the most love and use.
What is a baby book?
A baby book, as opposed to any old children's book or picture book, is usually printed on thicker paper or even on board pages, to make it more sturdy for little fingers which might otherwise rip it to shreds.
You can also get wonderful cloth books that are perhaps only four or eight pages long, and are printed or embroidered onto soft, washable, dribble-friendly cotton. And there are fabric books which open out and can be attached to a baby's cot to be gazed at.
Some of these books will just have pictures in, often the familiar bold black and white images contrasted with colours, which help visual stimulation. Others might have buttons that play tunes or make noises, or have nursery rhymes in, to help prompt you to sing to your child.
When can you start sharing books with a baby?
Although a baby might even snuggle with a cloth book from birth, they are more likely to start to enjoy baby books with you once the can sit up.
At this age, they enjoy things that are within easy reach and which are easy to look at and touch. Simple brick towers, toys and early books are ideal. You will find once they can crawl that they might lose interest in looking at things for a while, but this will return by about 13 or 14 months.
From about six months, you can sit on the floor, with baby in your lap, reading or singing along with a book. You can talk about the pictures or colours and stroke the pages (if they have bumpy, fluffly or shiny patches, for example), to get your child into the idea of spending this special time with you.
Baby books are usually suitable up to about 18 months and with some babies, you might not want to start sharing books until they are about 12 months or so. But you will often find that a child will love their first books even when they are two and half, or three years old.
Buggy books
There are a few lovely small books available which attach to the side of your buggy on a safe plastic spring. These are great for little hands to explore and are worth having from about four months up. Even by toddlerhood, you will find some children still enjoy them.
Beware small parts
Some wonderful books that babies would enjoy come with a 'not suitable for under 36 months' notice on the back.
If they have plastic rattly parts on them, it might be because under EU law, the publisher is obliged to treat the books like a toy and warn you that you must not give the book to your child to play with.
If you feel comfortable using common sense, you should not worry if you want to enjoy these books with your baby when you are there to hold the book and read to him rather than leaving him unattended with it. But do be aware of any choking hazard.
Lift the flap books
There are some beautiful lift-the-flap books around, but expect them to quickly become 'rip the flap off' books if you share them with very young children. These are ideally suited to children who are about two years old, when they can enjoy the surprise of what's hiding under the flap, and you can advise them to keep their little fingers in check!
Some baby books have very sturdy flaps which aren't so bad, but at least a torn book shows it's been enjoyed!
Noisy books and interactive books
There are some fabulous books which come with buttons on. These might squeak, quack or moo, or they might play tinkly nursery rhyme favourites.
Don't be afraid to try them in the bookshop! You would be amazed how some sound very loud or are just too shrill, and you will know what instinctively sounds best for your baby.
V-tech also do interactive books for early learning experiences, which are almost more like games.
