5 books my one year old is obsessed with
Welcome to Baylor’s Book Club!
Spring 2021 Faves
I thought it would be a fun idea to pick Baylor’s most favorite picture books every few months and highlight them on the blog. He is becoming more curious each day and definitely has favorites we read again and again. If you have an infant or toddler and need to refresh their library, keep reading!
Do you read with your baby?
Reading is essential for a child’s language development. With my background and degree in teaching, I knew I would be reading with my kids daily from a young age. The exposure to different images and texts gives babies a rich learning experience and sets the stage for language development even from infancy! This website has an awesome chart about what you can be reading with your baby and tips for parents in the early stages.
I started reading with Baylor at about 4 months of age. I felt like he was finally able to engage with his surroundings at this point and was interested at looking at pictures, especially high contrast images. He loved the books that crinkle during tummy time or listening to a picture book before bed. Now, reading plays a big role in our day to day lives. It has been apart of his bedtime routine for months, and it is something we do during the day as an activity. I love that Baylor is starting to interact with the books and pictures and I can see he is starting to recognize his favorites! He gravitates toward the same few, and eventually rotates on to others as he gets older and more curious.
Everything is MAMA
By: Jimmy Fallon
Yes, you read that right, Jimmy Fallon. He has a collection of 3 of these books that are just TOO cute. They only have one to two words on a page which is perfect for young babies. The illustrations are so precious and simple. This book shows all of the baby animals only saying “mama” while the parent animals are trying to teach them the correct words for objects. The ending is heartwarming and it’s a fast - like 3 minute - read aloud. This one is the newest of the three to our collection but he still loves it. The 3rd book I wont mention here is called This is BABY and has a similar styled cover.
Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA
By: Jimmy Fallon
I’ll keep this one short in sweet since I already mentioned the trio above. This one has to be Baylor’s ABSOLUTE favorite of the three. This one teaches animal sounds and showcases different animals than the title above. It features all the dad animals trying to make sure their baby’s first word will be “dada”, which, let’s be real, it usually is.
Baylor is successful at making the sheep’s “baa” sound and the duck’s “quack” and knows exactly when they are coming up during the read aloud. I found him the other day opening to the duck page specifically so he could “quack”! *crying emoji*
It’s so heartwarming to see his little mind blossom before my eyes!
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
By: Bill Martin Jr./ Eric Carle
We all love to see our baby’s experience picture books that were read to us! This is an oldie but such a GOODIE. Baylor is obsessed with Eric Carle’s famous illustrations, featuring, you guessed it, more animals. But, this time they are displayed in vibrant, unique colors! If you' haven’t read this one, you better get on it! It’s a classic. I love the repetition. Believe it or not, baby will catch on even if they are just listening and looking. I always add in the animals’ sounds while reading which is always crowd pleaser at our house. I bet you sense a theme here. Animals are big with B right now.
I highly recommend getting the board book version of all of these picture books if possible for the little ones so pages aren’t ripped by tiny fingers.
Touch and Feel: Color and Shapes
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Baylor loves the different textures on the pages. I love the real life examples and photos with labels. This one has minimal text and has several others just like it. We have the animals one too! Any books your little one can touch and feel will be a win and keep them coming back for more!
The Wonky Donkey
By: Craig Smith
I’ve saved the funniest for last! This book is honestly so hilarious and clever. This books showcases a silly donkey who has quite a lot going on - if you know, you know. This is a great book to introduce donkeys and their sound, “hee-haw”. For older kids, its a sing-songy read aloud where they can join in with the repetition and have a laugh all at once. I think I have more fun reading it than Baylor at times! Apparently, there is a song that goes with it on the Scholastic website too if you’re into that! Highly recommend.