Books for babes and manuals for moms

From the day we are born our brains thirst knowledge and information. One of the best ways to feed this hunger for learning is through books. Babies and children lap up stories and their illustrations from an early age, whilst as adults we continue to seek knowledge and understand about our world, never more so than when we are pregnant or parenting small children.

We would love to start a Baby Sense Bookclub – a place where we review and recommend the ‘Best Books for Babes’ and ‘Marvelous Manuals for Moms’. Meg Faure and Antoinette Scandling have put together a summary of our best books and would love to hear what you recommend. You can recommend your best books on our blog.

MANUALS FOR MOMS
Nothing prepares us for the hard task of mothering quite in the same way that books do.
We also know that there is an astounding amount of information out there for parents and parents to be. We take the parenting advice given to mums and dads very seriously. Some books support parents in the weighty task of parenting, others are excellent sources of advice and others just let us laugh. If we had a Baby Sense book club, these would be our top 10 manuals for mums.

The Secret Life of the Unborn Child: A remarkable and controversial look at life before birth – Dr Thomas Verney with Joan Kelly, 2006 (Time Warner Books)
I loved the way this book revealed my baby to me whilst I was pregnant. It is easy to read and covers the influence of Dads all the way through to what you can expect from your ‘little scientist’.

What to expect when you’re expecting – A. Eisenberg, H. Murkoff & S. Hathaway, 1996 (Simon & Schuster)
Although it has been around for a long time and has been criticized for being a bit alarmist and too all encompassing, I lived by this book when I was pregnant. I wanted to know everything from how big my baby was to why I got leg cramps and this book covered it all.

Why Love Matters. How Affection Shapes Your Baby’s Brain - Sue Gerhardt, 2004 (Brunner-Routledge)
If you have any interest in your baby’s brain development and how your mothering impacts on your baby, this one is for you. It is easy to read and covers lots of topics such as how you can influence how your baby will respond to stress later.

The Science Of Parenting - Margot Sunderland, 2006 (Dorling Kindersley Publishing Ltd)
This is a wonderful resource that deals with the practical questions such as sleep, and crying but does it from the perspective of the baby’s brain and capacities. It’s a good read.

Breastfeeding: The Essential Guide - Sharon Trotter, 2004 (Trotters Independent Publishing Services Ltd)
This is a great book on breastfeeding as it’s so practical. I battled so much to breastfeed with my first baby and in retrospect I think the advice I got was not hands on enough. This great book makes feeding easier, right down to what bra to buy! It is written by a midwife and mother of five and is beyond easy to read! To get hold of it go to www.tipslimited.com

What’s going on it there? How the brain and mind develop in the first five years of life. - Lise Eliot, 2000 (Bantam Books)
This is the most comprehensive look at your baby’s emerging personality and how memory, intelligence and language develop. It’s a bit technical at times but if this is your interest, you will gobble it up.

Annabel Karmel's New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner - Annabel Karmel, 2004, (Ebury press)
Annabel’s books are fantastic, easy to follow recipes with all the back ground as to what and when you should feed your baby certain foods. It starts for the absolute basic beginner foods and takes you on to some really yummy gourmet baby food recipes.

What Mothers Do: Especially When It Looks Like Nothing - Naomi Stadlen, 2005 (Piatkus Books)
If you come to the end of your day feeling exhausted and felt like you have had a very busy day, and when you think back on your day and realize that you have actually done nothing constructive. Be reassured by this book that although it may look like you are getting nothing done, the time you spend with your baby is filled with some of the most important experiences in your baby’s life.

I don’t know how she does it – Alison Pearson, 2002 (Anchor Books)
This is one of the funniest books I ever read on mothering. Your will find yourself in every chapter, whether you are a working mum or an at home mum. It’s about Kate whose wheels are falling off and she has no idea how she can go on meeting the demands of her children, husband and boss. It’s well worth the read.

The Baby Group – Rowan Coleman, 2007 (Arrow Books)
This is a fun book about Natalie who falls pregnant unexpectedly. Once Baby Freddie arrives she finds herself forming friendships with 6 very different parents, who make up their own unofficial baby group. Each member of the group has their own issues to deal with in their private lives, which they deal with, with the support of their new friends. This book helps you see the funny side of parenthood and how much fun and support you could gain through groups and clubs you join when you have a baby.

BOOKS FOR BABES
As parents one of the most important skills we strive for our children to learn is literacy. You can give your child a running start by introducing them to books from early on, even as early as a few weeks old. As your child grows their interest in books will grow with them, and story time can become a valued time of the day for your child. It is a time to slow down, relax together and not think of anything else.

Here are a few essentials to teach children about books:

• Respect for books - no tearing or drawing in them
• Enjoyment of books - show by your example
• Wash your hands before touching books
• There are different types of books - books for stories, books for knowledge
• Draw their attention to both the writing and the pictures so that they learn that text has meaning and that illustrations can tell the story.
• Language - books only enhance language development as you talk about the pictures and the story.
• Always discuss the book after you have read it. For babies tell them something you enjoyed, and for toddlers ask them about something that happened in the story. This helps to develop memory as well as anticipation next time you read it together.
• For toddlers explain what an author and illustrator are and for each book tell them who has written the book and who has drawn the pictures.

As a teacher and a mum, Antoinette shares her list of some of the books she loves to have in her classroom and her home. Books for babies can spill over into toddlerhood, as they can easily learn the story and “read” it to you. Some authors and series are particularly good for books for babies.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Puffin Books)
Peepo - Janet and Allan Ahlberg (Penguin Books)
The Babies Catalogue - Janet and Allan Ahlberg (Penguin Books)
Each Peach Pear Plum - Janet and Allan Ahlberg (Penguin Books)
My Dad - Anthony Browne (Picture Corgi Books)
My Mum - Anthony Browne (Picture Corgi Books)
Dear Zoo - Roy Campbell (Campbell Books)
One Bear at Bedtime - Mick Inkpen (Hodder Children’s Books)
Cock a moo moo -Juliet Dallas-Conte (McMillan Children’s books)
Goodnight Moon - Margret Wise Brown (Harper Collins Publishers)
Where’s Spot - Eric Hill (Penguin Books)
(Also, the Usborne Books range is fantastic)

BOOKS FOR TODDLERS
Toddlers love rhyming stories. They are easy to follow because they have a rhythm to them and the rhyming draws their attention to sounds in words. You will find that your toddler will be able to recite rhyming stories more so than other books. Also look out for books that have repetitive text as this helps with language development.

Handa’s Surprise - Eileen Browne (Walker Books)
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt - Michael Rosen and Helen Oxen bury (Walker Books)
The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler (Campbell Books)
Monkey Puzzle - Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler (Campbell Books)
Billy’s Beetle - Mick Inkpen (Hodder Children’s Books)
Guess How Much I Love You? - Sam McBratney (Walker Books)
Have You Seen My Potty? - Mary McQuillan (Hodder Children’s Books)
The Tiger Who Came To Tea - Judith Kerr (Harper Collins Children’s books)
So Much - Trish Cooke (Walker Books)
Rumble In The Jungle - Giles Andrea and David Wojtowycz (Orchard Picture Books)
Duck In The Truck - Jez Alborough (Harper Collins Children’s books)
The Cat In The Hat - Dr Seuss (Dr Seuss Enterprises)
Meg and Mog - Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski (Puffin Books)
Owl Babies - Martin Waddel and Patrick Benson (Walker Books)

There are so many wonderful books available. The above list is just to name a few of our favourites. Please go to our blog and add your recommendations!

Happy Reading!!!