I used to think that the purpose of board and cloth books was to make texts easier for babies to grab and hold. While I still think that's partially true, now that Leo is older and grabbing everything in sight, I have witnessed how his chubby, soft baby hands can turn into tools of paper destruction. Leo is great at grabbing; he's still working on the finesse of holding. Clean, smooth pages of a book don't hold up well when they are seized upon with the same grip that someone might use when they are hanging from a cliff.
Consequently, while we have many wonderful books in our library, I've decided to keep to those of the board and cloth variety for the time being. While I could read to Leo from our paper books and just keep them out of his reach, I like to give him the opportunity to hold the books and turn the pages himself. He seems to enjoy this as well!
I can always tell when Leo loves a board book because he, a)becomes really quiet and still when we're reading, b)will stare at it when it is on the floor in front of him, c)grabs for the pages, or d)all of the above. Here are some of the ones that never fail to elicit a reaction:
1. That's Not My Dinosaur - Leo can stare at the cover of this book for several minutes(a long time for a 5 month old!) and not become distracted. It's also a touch and feel book and while he's still pretty uninterested in that aspect, I think that it will be a big hit in the future!
2. Trains Go - This book is super fun to read due to the very accurate onomatopoeia language used to describe the different sounds that each train makes. Leo loves to sit and listen to the "Zoosh" of the diesel train and the "clang" of the old steam train.
3. Dr. Seuss's Circus McGurkus 1,2,3! Cloth Book - I have never read the book that this is adapted from (If I Ran the Circus), but this is a pretty solid choice on its own. This is due somewhat to the fun language and Seussian illustrations, but mostly to the fact that there are multiple fun things for Leo to grab built into the book - a rattle, trapezes, shiny pop out ball.
Eric and I are both readers and we think that these books will help Leo to be one too! One of us! One of us!
Consequently, while we have many wonderful books in our library, I've decided to keep to those of the board and cloth variety for the time being. While I could read to Leo from our paper books and just keep them out of his reach, I like to give him the opportunity to hold the books and turn the pages himself. He seems to enjoy this as well!
I can always tell when Leo loves a board book because he, a)becomes really quiet and still when we're reading, b)will stare at it when it is on the floor in front of him, c)grabs for the pages, or d)all of the above. Here are some of the ones that never fail to elicit a reaction:
1. That's Not My Dinosaur - Leo can stare at the cover of this book for several minutes(a long time for a 5 month old!) and not become distracted. It's also a touch and feel book and while he's still pretty uninterested in that aspect, I think that it will be a big hit in the future!
3. Dr. Seuss's Circus McGurkus 1,2,3! Cloth Book - I have never read the book that this is adapted from (If I Ran the Circus), but this is a pretty solid choice on its own. This is due somewhat to the fun language and Seussian illustrations, but mostly to the fact that there are multiple fun things for Leo to grab built into the book - a rattle, trapezes, shiny pop out ball.
Eric and I are both readers and we think that these books will help Leo to be one too! One of us! One of us!
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