I love to read, and I absolutely love reading to little ones. Reading to your baby is an opportunity to slow down, snuggle with your baby and create a routine that fosters connection. Anyone can read to baby; Dad, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, neighbors.... As a midwife, one of the sweetest things I have witnessed is Dad reading to his newborn daughter who was less than two hours old and her brothers while Mom was taking a shower.
I read to both of my sons, starting while I was pregnant. When my oldest child was born and I started reading to him from one of the books I had read often while pregnant, he got so excited, cooing and flapping his arms. He recognized the rhythm of the words I was reading, and now he could see the pictures that went with the words. If he was fussy while we were driving somewhere, I could open a book and put it where he could see and he would stop fussing to look at the pictures. Books were stuffed in the diaper bag and went with us everywhere. Reading kept my boys occupied when we were waiting, at the doctor's office or a restaurant, or whenever they were bored while we were out. Reading was also part of our bedtime routine.
My boys are adults now so my list is probably more of a "classic" children's book list, but the classics are tried and true. Here's my list:
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Katie Caboose by Bill Peet
Wait Til the Moon is Full by Margarat Wise Brown
Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
Sheep in a Shop by Nancy Shaw
Sheep Out to Eat by Nancy Shaw
Cat in The Hat by Dr Suess
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess
Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel By Virginia Lee Burton
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
If You Give a Moose A Muffin by Laura Joffe Numeroff
If You Take A Mouse to the Movies by Laura Joffie Numeroff
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Tootle by Gertrude Crampton
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
These are what I consider my favorites to read to my sons when they were babies. I read them so often that I can still recite the texts of some of them. Today my sons like to read whether it's to expand knowledge or just for fun. I think reading to them starting before birth was a big part of the love of reading we all share now.
I read to both of my sons, starting while I was pregnant. When my oldest child was born and I started reading to him from one of the books I had read often while pregnant, he got so excited, cooing and flapping his arms. He recognized the rhythm of the words I was reading, and now he could see the pictures that went with the words. If he was fussy while we were driving somewhere, I could open a book and put it where he could see and he would stop fussing to look at the pictures. Books were stuffed in the diaper bag and went with us everywhere. Reading kept my boys occupied when we were waiting, at the doctor's office or a restaurant, or whenever they were bored while we were out. Reading was also part of our bedtime routine.
My boys are adults now so my list is probably more of a "classic" children's book list, but the classics are tried and true. Here's my list:
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Katie Caboose by Bill Peet
Wait Til the Moon is Full by Margarat Wise Brown
Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
Sheep in a Shop by Nancy Shaw
Sheep Out to Eat by Nancy Shaw
Cat in The Hat by Dr Suess
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess
Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel By Virginia Lee Burton
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
If You Give a Moose A Muffin by Laura Joffe Numeroff
If You Take A Mouse to the Movies by Laura Joffie Numeroff
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Tootle by Gertrude Crampton
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
These are what I consider my favorites to read to my sons when they were babies. I read them so often that I can still recite the texts of some of them. Today my sons like to read whether it's to expand knowledge or just for fun. I think reading to them starting before birth was a big part of the love of reading we all share now.
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