Best Books for Baby’s First Book Collection

Play Inspired Mum Stick Man Julia Donaldson

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It has long been known that reading to our children offers so much more than just entertainment.

Laying back with your child has been proven to improve their cognitive development, speech and language skills, and creativity.

Furthermore, reading to your child not only opens up their world and awareness of endless possibilities but allows powerful bonds to form and strengthen between a child and their caregiver.

It is never too early to begin to read to your child.

Even in utero, infants have been known to respond to their parent’s voices. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?

Must have Titles for your Baby's first book collection

Best Books for Baby’s First Book Collection

Play Inspired Mum Children Books

Why read to your baby?

Reading to your newborn is one of the most precious activities you can enjoy with your child while also getting them started on their learning journey. By their first birthday, your child would have learned all the sounds required to speak their home language. Amazing little creatures aren’t they?

It has been extensively documented the impact that the number of words an infant hears in their first year has on their comprehension and language development.

Another huge attribute to this is keeping the experience interpersonal. Reading directly to your child, in person will stimulate

  • brain connections
  • create a foundation for listening
  • memory skills
  • vocabulary skills
  • build empathy
  • supports social skills development
  • encourages emotional development

No screen, audiobook, or recording can offer the same experience as a parent or caregiver reading aloud to their child directly.

Play Inspired Mum Stick Man Julia Donaldson

How to read to your baby

Babies learn by mimicking. They mimic expressions, sounds, and tones. When reading to your baby, take the time to create an emphasis on elaborating emotions, adding a moo to the dialect when referencing a cow, and highlighting keywords.

Use the illustrations to further deepen your child’s comprehension. Yes, to start with the content is not as important as simply listening to the sounds of their caregiver’s voice however over time (most likely before their parent is able to recognise it) a baby is able to piece together the meaning of the words.

Pointing out the characters, interpreting their faces, recognising shapes and colours, counting additional characters in the background and discussing the setting will all increase the number of words your baby hears and will feed their need for information.

Enjoy these precious moments and feel proud to know that you are empowering your child with so much more than just entertainment when reciting the words on the pages over and over again.

I hope that your family enjoys these titles as much as my children have over the years!=

Check out our play with some of our favourite books and how we bring them into our play!

One Ted Falls Out Of Bed
A Squash and a Squeeze

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Dani is a busy mum, pre-service teacher and and founder of Play Inspired Mum. Her goal is to inspire creative play ideas, encourage the love of reading, offer tips to make your household eco friendly and remind you that you are not alone on this wild rollercoaster of a journey known as parenting! She loves houseplants, giant chunky cookies and all things play based, incorporating learning experiences into every day!