Age 0 to 4 yrs

Books for Babies and Toddlers - age 0-2 years and 2-4 years

To become future readers babies and toddlers need your input. By reinforcing the idea that books are fun, you are creating what will be a happy reading background for them when they reach school age. Without you, they will associate books only with school. So make books and reading part of your child's everyday life. As Dorothy Butler once said in her ground-breaking book Babies Need Books (Penguin), 'Babies are never too little to look.' By introducing books to your child at an early age you are giving your child the best start and creating a reader for life. What to look for in a book for a baby or toddler:  

  • Clear, uncluttered pictures. Try the Usborne board book series such as the new title Sleepy Baby by Fiona Watt or the colourful Do Lions Live on Lily Pads? by Melanie Walsh.

  • Familiar subjects and pictures - animals, everyday life, other babies and children - things your child will recognise. Try Sarah Garland's Splash, reviewed below.

  • And don't forget nursery rhymes and lullabies that have soothed generations of children. Try the new Irish rhyme collection by Malachy Doyle, One, Two, Three O'Leary or First Picture Action Rhymes in the Usborne series, with tunes available on the Internet.  

Top Reads for 2-4 year olds

Toddlers and older children are ready for ‘real' books. They still enjoy stories with familiar settings but are also fascinated by the wider world around them. They also love funny books and books featuring animals and yes, princesses and fairies!

What to look for in a book for age 2 to 4:

  • Books that you enjoy as much as your child

  • Books about your child's favourite subject

  • Funny books - such as ‘Winnie at the Seaside' by Valerie Thomas.

  • Interactive books with lots of opportunity for noise and play, such as ‘Fancy That' by Gillian Lobel.

  • Remember to include some of your child's old favourites as well as new books. Old favourites can be very comforting for children. And do let your child choose his or her own books from the bookshop or the library.

  • Set aside time each to day to read to your child. Ten minutes before bedtime is ideal. It can make all the difference.

Download our guide to the best books for Babies and Toddlers 2009 age0-4

Download our guide to the best books for Babies and Toddlers 2008 ages_0-4_guide_08

Our Top Choices for 2009:

its_a_secret.jpgJOHN BURNINGHAM  IT'S A SECRET  WALKER BOOKS 2009, £11.99 (HBK),

ISBN 9781406314472

A beautifully crafted book letting us in on the secret of what cats get up to at night. With hoodie dogs and a Queen of Cats, Burningham conveys much in strokes of pen or brush. 

 

 

there.jpgMARIE-LOUISE FITZPATRICK  THERE  ROARING BROOK PRESS 2009, $17.95 (HBK),

ISBN 9781596430877

A small girl ponders the mysteries of There. Will it be big? Will there be rainbows? But if she changes her mind, can she go Elsewhere instead? A book approaching big issues in a delicate way.

 

 

Our Top Choices for 2008:

http://www.borders.com/ProductImages/products/00/57/80/a/57805819_a.jpgPOLLY DUNBAR  HELLO TILLY  WALKER BOOKS, £9.99 (HBK),

ISBN 9781406309065 (PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 2008)

Tilly lives in a yellow house with her best friends, five animals. Dunbar does not shy away from the realities of communal living, and this ostensibly simple book has a vein of truth and wisdom running through it. The illustrations are a joy–delicate, beautifully coloured and full of expression.




CAROLYN CURTIS AGUS ALISON JAY

AISTRITHE GO GAEILGE AG GABRIEL ROSENSTOCK

THUGAS AN GHEALACH AG SIÚL  AN GÚM, €6.50 (BOG), ISBN 9781857917086

Bheadh an leabhar seo oiriúnach le léamh do pháiste óg ag am codlata. Tugann buachaill óg an ghealach ag súil timpeall a chomharsanacht i lár na hoíche. Feiceann siad agus cloiseann siad a lán rudaí éagsúla, na hainmhithe oíche, na mamaigh, na héin agus na feithidí sin a chodlaíonn i rith an lae. Tá draíocht, samhlaíocht agus filíocht le fáil sa scéal seo. Tá léaráidí iontach greannmhar agus tarraingteach ar gach leathanach den leabhar.

 

http://pigeonpresents.com/data/coverls/pigeon_puppy_cover_lg.jpgMO WILLEMS

THE PIGEON WANTS A PUPPY!

WALKER BOOKS, £5.99 (PBK), ISBN 9781406315509

Pigeon wants a puppy. When his dream comes true and a huge, slobbering puppy arrives, he quickly changes his mind. Instead he wants ... a walrus. The paredback illustrations are extraordinary; Willems expresses more in one seemingly simple line than some illustrators do in a whole book. And the background colours –palest egg-shell blue, candyfloss pink, soft rain-cloud grey – beautiful. The future of children’s picture books is in good hands. (Did I mention it’s also hilariously funny?) Brilliant for reading aloud.  SEE ALSO: www.mowillems.com