Introducing Your Child to the Wonderful World of Books

One of my favorite things to do with my little girl is to read picture books with her. From the time she was very little (only a few days old), I have shared books with her. In the beginning, she was more interested in listening to me and being cuddled on my lap than the actual book.

Now she's a year old, and she pulls books off of the bookshelf and walks around the house with them. Sometimes she'll spend all day looking at one of her picture books, and carry it into the car or out on walks with her. Some days she pulls grown-up books (the dictionary seems to be a common choice) and carries them around. She sees us reading, and so she is interested in books.

Every child will have individual tastes, but they can learn to love books and have special time with mummy or daddy if you read to them. Here are some good books to try for kids under a year old.

* Anything with flaps they can lift up, textures they can feel, or shiny pictures. The Amazing Baby series are excellent.

* Where the Wild Things are is a classic. Your little wild thing will love having a wild rumpus with you.

* Have different books for different times. My daughter has a Disney princesses book that plays music for playtime, a touch-and-feel nativity book for church on Sundays, and calmer books like Guess How Much I Love You for bedtime. Small, easy to hold books in sturdy material (like foam or board) are perfect for them to hold in their strollers when you're out and about. You can even buy books that attach to the side of the pushchair so that they don't get lost.

* Look for books that only have a few lines of text per page and expect to read then repeatedly.

* Liz Ahlberg's books-like Hug-are sweet and fun. Children like the predictable sparse text and the illustrations of animals.

* Judy Waite's picture books can be hard to find, but are worth the effort.

*Some excellent picture books to try include the Maisy series, Dirty Bertie, The Gruffalo, Peepo Baby, The Spot Series, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.