Board Books Are Not All Created Equal

4 Board Books You Won't Get Tired of Reading to Littles:

As a book lover, I thought I was already gung-ho about reading out loud to my kids. Then early in the pandemic I read “The Read-Aloud Family” by Sarah Mackenzie and became even more convinced of the many, many academic, social-emotional, family bonding and spiritual benefits of reading aloud good books! As a first step, picking board books that aren’t a chore to read out loud to your baby seems like it should be easier than it is. Here are my top five first board books for this first stage. I promise, you won’t be annoyed reading any of these dozens of times (maybe even in one sitting)! And they’re all captivating for the little ones without the text being too long or complicated.

1. Peek-A-Who by Nina Laden

This has consistently been the first book my babies are interested to listen to.

2. Whose Toes Are Those? by Jabari Hasim and LeUyen Pham

Simple and delightful.

3. Dinosaur Roar by Paul and Henrietta Strickland

A fun one with a great rhyme scheme that lends itself to a playful reading.

4. Wiggle Waggle (+ sequels) by Jonathan London and Michael Rex

Surprisingly pleasing to read out loud, and beloved by my kids up through age 5. This one can be hard to find since it’s out of print (check your library or thriftbooks.com) but it is a real gem, worth the hunt. The spin off books (Snuggle Wuggle, and Crunch, Munch ) are great too.

Honorable Mentions

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

• Dr. Seuss Books (Family favorites: The Foot Book, The Shape of Things, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?, There's A Wocket In My Pocket)

• All board books by Sandra Boynton

#LaurensLists #HabitsoftheHousehold