First books don't have to be works of literary genius (see our Buyer's Guide to Books for Babies but instead, should be full of contrast and easy, fun sensory delights.
This book, in the Baby Touch series, has padded, thick card pages with bumpy or scratchy surfaces and some simple lift-the-flap features.
Each page has some simple captions to provide you with talking points so you can chat to your child as she runs her hands over the squishy goldfish, or feels the edges of the stars, squares and circles.
A cat, snail, baby, teddy and elephant all feature, as do colours, shapes, contrasting sizes and surfaces, and some peek-a-boo images. 'Teddy bear, teddy bear, Go off to your bed' says one typical caption, while babies can touch and feel the different 3-d pictures of a sheep, duck, frog and fish.
As well as useful developmental ideas and experiences, the book is just a lovely little activity to share at bedtime, and, whilst it can be used with babies under one, my three-year-old still enjoys singing a song about rainbows when we leaf through it together!