One of the goals I had set for myself as a pregnant mumma was to raise a childoo with loads of books. Shanaya, our ray of light, fulfills my dream every single day as she walks up to her little library to choose a book before turning to any of her toys. As part of our very first entry in the #kbcbookbingo2023, we hope Shanaya’s fellow childoos find as much fun, hope, vocabulary through these books as she has in her first 14 months of life.
- A yellow coloured book – On the farm by Roger Priddy
A touch and feel book is always a fun one for the kids. Add in some farm animals and there is a double treat. While I read out loud everything in this book, my childoo is busy enjoying the little touch and feel options. A cute addition to our library - Leaf or flower on the cover – Thumper’s Fluffy Tail by Laura Driscoll
Another fun touch and feel book. It traces the adventure of Thumper the bunny as he chases a butterfly. - A book with siblings – What sisters do best by Laura Numeroff
Before Shanaya met her cousin for the first time, we read this book together. While the sisters in this book do a lot together, our little one remembered the swing when her cousin was home. She claps in joy each time I flip through the page “push you on a swing”. A must read on our list of books. - A book that features mom – I am a little tiger by Francois Crozat
This is a wonderful book narrated from the point of view of a child (little tiger) – what the mother does to raise the kids like protect, feed etc. and what the little tiger aspires to do. You realize that a mom is a mom regardless of the species and how much a child adores their mom. - A book that features dad – Find Spot at the Library by Eric Hill
We love all the books in the “Spot” series. This book is a trip that Spot takes to the library with his dad. It also happens to be a costume party day. Oh wait..where is spot? This is where the fun lift-the-flap book’s magic takes over as we are back at searching for Spot but this time at the library. - A bedtime book – Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
This book has a lot of pictures that are perfect for early readers. It’s a story of a gorilla who escapes from his cage and frees his buddies from other cages. All the animals decide to follow the sleepy and unaware zookeeper to his home. What happens next is a story worth reading and narrating to your childoo. - Lift the flap book – Where’s Spot by Eric Hill
It’s a sweet book about a pup named Spot. My daughter loves dogs so she had fun finding Spot under the various flaps like the bed, in the closet, piano, etc. Each time she lifts the flap and finds an animal that is not Spot, she says ‘No’ and giggles. Her giggles make this a fun book for us as well. - A cat book – Pete the cat – Checks out the library by James Dean
Our home always welcomes a book about a library. It augurs well with our dream of having a big library plus all library visits for our childoo. This is a hand-me down book with lots of words. Our daughter will probably grow into it. For now, we look at the pages and recite the story which is all about Pete learning what a library is and exploring all the books. The best part of the book is the fantasy world that he creates with each book he reads, much alike what books have always meant for me. - A book by Debi Gliori – Goodnight World
This book is a great extension to Goodnight Moon (from a different author). While that book was perfect when my little one couldn’t speak, this one just has that fun rhyme while wishing everyone good night. She repeats the words she can say now and at the end of the book always hugs me just like the baby in the book. - A book on first experiences – Spot Goes to the Swimming Pool by Eric Hill
Another one from the Spot series by Eric Hill. We decided to introduce this book to our kid as she faced the same fear as Spot on her first day to the pool. Whenever I read the page, that Spot says “I love swimming”, I just hope that day is soon here for Shanaya too. - A book that makes you giggle – Little Eva Loves by Rebecca Elliott
A nice sing-song book that as a family we like to read with actions like giving a high-five when Eva lends a helping hand, or do a peek-a-boo when she plays pretend. The message of love while having fun is nicely depicted in this rhyming board book - A book on big emotions – Knuffle Bunny – A case of mistaken identity by by Mo Willems
Ever wondered how many emotions a childoo can feel in a day? This book is a great example of how a pre-schooler who was very excited to show off her little bunny, is faced with disappointment, sadness, fear and an extra dose of happiness all in one day. - A book that was helpful in addressing an issue – Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli
When kids start teething, getting everything away from their mouth is the hardest. I never knew this fun read will do the trick for us. While reading the book, we made some funny sounds to differentiate yummy and yucky things. When we went to the park, we used the same sounds and she immediately started responding and threw away whatever she picked from the park.
All Leslie Particelli board books come highly recommended and are huge bestsellers with our kbc members! - A book you love for the illustrations – Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
A very funny book about how a pigeon tries all tactics to get to drive the bus with no favourable results. My daughter always wait till the last page to repeat uh-oh and do a facepalm with me. - A book by an Indian author – Goodnight Rajasthan by Nitya Khemka
We just started on the book as we are planning for a trip to Rajasthan later this year. I feel as a parent I have learnt so much about the beautiful state of Rajasthan than I knew before this book. Definitely has helped me reset my itinerary while my childoo is still facinated by all the colours in the book. - A book that has food in the title – I’m Your Ice Cream Truck by Hannah Eliot
Shaped as a ice-cream truck, the book is a daily journey of a ice-cream truck as it makes it’s round to the different spots offering yummy sweets before heading home. The book is simple to read and enjoy. - A book with stuffed animal – Knuffle Bunny – A cautionary tale by Mo Willems
This is a story of Trixie who only babbles and her trip to a laundromat with her dad. She decides to bring her stuffed animal along for her day out but then she loses it on her way back. What ensues is a cute narration of Trixie trying to communicate and finally getting not only her stuffed animal but also her first words. - A book about a day out with family – Spot’s Road Trip by Eric Hill
Shaped liked a van, this book is an interesting read about Spot’s trip to the beach with his parents. My childoo gets excited when I read the part about songs in the van and also about reading books as these are two things we usually do when we take any road trip. - A book that teaches an important lesson – The dot by Peter Reynolds
This book is inspirational not just for kids, but for adults alike. When Vashti feels art is not her cup of tea, a teacher’s simple motivational gesture proves to be more powerful than one can imagine. How things turn around for Vashti brought tears of joy in my eyes. While my daughter just looks at me each time I read this book, I hope some day she is as inspired as Vashti was in this must-read. - Grown up’s favourite book in the house – The I love you Book by Todd Parr
Every parent loves a child regardless of the situation. This book illustrates this feeling by comparing different situations and sharing with the child that no matter what, we love you now and always.
[added by asha: Todd Parr’s books are legendary. THE FEELINGS BOOK gets ordered often.] - A hand-me down book you are attached to – Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton
Shanaya’s cousin is an avid book reader from the age of 1. Now 8, her mom brought a number of books she had outgrown, but Shanaya’s first love from the lot was Moo Baa. Books with animal sounds are never enough for our daughter. Add in some rhyming sing-song to it and you have a happy baby. A very simple fun read for little ones that also teach them animal noises. - A book you tore – There Is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems
How would you feel if a bird sat on your head and while you were recovering from that horror, another came followed by a nest and the plot just continues to get funnier. This is the reality of the elephant who went through the horror while his friend piggie had fun watching the elephant’s plight. But all is not lost for the elephant when we turn to the last page of the book. - A book you have carried to bed and slept with – Go dogs go by P.D. Eastman
A bright coloured board book on dogs that my little one obsesses over (may be because she loves all bow-bow aka dogs). They travel in different ways, waiting on signals, proceeding on signals, etc. to reach the ultimate dog party. - A book written in rhymes – Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins
An amazing musically rhyming book of monkeys who like to drum. I usually read this book on roadtrips to my daughter and we together drum on the armrest of the seat. Since we started reading this book, she has learnt to identify her hands and fingers. The repetition of words like drum, hum, zum are sure to bring an instant smile to your childoo. - A book your grandparent read to you – Are you my mother? by P. D. Eastman
A fun tale of how a baby bird who is just born goes on a search looking for her mother. The innocence of a child is beautifully depicted when the child inquires with each animal and even a machine if they are its missing mother. All is well when the book brings the joy of the baby bird finally meeting the mother. - A book that has food stains on it – Pete the cat – Groovy Bake Sale by James Dean
An inspiring story of how Pete wanted to be ready for a bake sale at school. With his mom’s help he tries multiple things but alas, each ends with a bit of disappointment. While he is just recovering from the shock, he has a Eureka moment to turn his disappointment into excitement. Definitely a must read for kids to teach them you never fail, you always learn. - A book given to you so mom/dad could have tea in peace – Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Dada by Jimmy Fallon
I think all moms will have a great laugh reading this book with their childoo. Each page has a daddy animal and his offspring. All that the daddy animal wishes for is to have his offspring call him dada. A bull says dada but the calf says moo, a drake says dada but the duckling says quack and the fun continues. The illustrations are super cute and the end message just fills your heart with joy. Our one year old loves to turn the page and look at all the illustrations. - A book by Wonder House – My first library boxed set
This was the first set of books that were gifted to my daughter. Her favorite out of the set are fruits where she can identify ba”nana” and strawberries. She loves looking at wild animals and farm animals book as well and calling each animal “bow bow”. - A book you gift often – Someday by Alison McGhee and Peter H. Reynolds
A book that will spark lots of beautiful emotions for a mom as they recollect all the firsts with their child. The book delves into the today, looks into the future and wraps up with what every mom wishes for their child – a beautiful life. - A book you got from kbc recommendations – Where is Baby’s Belly Button by Karen Katz
As a silent participant in the KBC community, I saw a number of fellow parents recommended Where is Baby’s Belly Button as a lift-a-flap book. I join them now after having bought one for my little one. It is hard to go wrong with this fun flap book that helps the kid learn about some of the body parts like eyes, hand, etc. But what brings the most joy is when the child lands on the “where is baby’s belly button” page. My daughter loves to point and show her belly button and it is the cutest thing as a parent to cherish.
[Note from Team Kids Book Café: For your convenience, affiliate links (MARKED IN PINK) to some of the book titles & images have been added to enable you to buy the books from AMAZON, should you wish to! A very small amount of money comes to kidsbookcafe.com when you purchase a book via the amazon affiliate link provided (at absolutely no extra cost to you!). Do let us know if you need information about other children’s books by writing to asha@kidsbookcafe.com.]
