MY FIRST BABY SIGNS
By Phil Conigliaro and Tae Won Yu
Workman, $15.95
“Talk to your baby,” new parents are told, but that can be difficult and even awkward, for the simple reason that babies don’t talk back. But even though they aren’t able to speak words yet, babies can be taught simple signs to express themselves. Attractively illustrated in strong, simple color combinations, this solid-feeling book has 10 signs. On each spread, a different baby’s hands make the motions of the sign when you pull a tab, accompanied by a simple explanation: “When baby wants food, baby signs EAT,” for example.
DOTTY’S FIRST BOOK
Colors, Shapes, Numbers
Written and illustrated by Becky Baur
Thames and Hudson, $12.95
Every baby needs what I call a “word book” — a simple catalogue of pictures of the things in their world, accompanied by the word for each. I find them incredibly satisfying to read with a baby — you can almost see the connections being made in the child’s mind. Lately these have been getting more visually pleasing and design-conscious, a welcome trend. This new one features whimsical art and a recurring character, a sprightly spotted dog making its way through its day; when two children appear toward the end, one is dark-skinned, one light-skinned, also a needed update for this kind of book. It’s a bit oversize, with pages for colors, numbers, shapes, opposites, animals, the body, and food. There’s a lot of interesting information for a curious little one.
LITTLE POEMS FOR TINY EARS
Poems by Lin Oliver, illustrated by Tomie dePaola
Nancy Paulsen/Penguin, $7.99
This one started out as a full-size picture book but is just as delightful as a board book. Tiny ones can hold it on their own, the better to spend time with the adorable, joyful art, in tones of orange, pink and teal, from the incomparable dePaola, of “Strega Nonna” fame. His babies are admirably balanced ethnically and gender wise, and Oliver’s short, sweet poems about aspects of a baby’s world like “My Stroller” and “The Bath” hit all the right notes: easy rhymes, perfect scanning and a bit of nonsense.
MOO, BAA, LA LA LA!
Written and illustrated by Sandra Boynton
Little Simon, $5.99
Boynton is practically a one-woman institution in the books-for-tots universe, and to me this one is the best of her more than 40 books. Her ear for raucous toddler humor is on impeccable display, and the words are so easy to memorize, you could even call them unforgettable — I’ve had them in my head for 14 years now, since my oldest child was a baby. They include perfectly deployed animal sounds, which are always a great avenue into spoken language: “A cow says moo / A sheep says baa / Three singing pigs say La La La!”
ANIMAL TALK
Mexican Folk Art Animal Sounds in Spanish and English
Written by Cynthia Weill, with wood sculptures from Oaxaca by Rubi Fuentes and Efrain Broa
Cinco Puntos Press, $9.95
Speaking of animal sounds, this gem of a book offers a chance to say them with a little one in both English and Spanish — and marvel at how differently languages interpret the same noises. “Frogs say RIBBIT RIBBIT. Can you?” one side of the spread says, while the other is “Las ranas dicen CRUA CRUA. Puedes tu?” As for the animals, they are photos of small painted wooden Oaxacan sculptures that are somehow both stunning and adorable, set against brightly painted backgrounds.
CHICKEN SOUP WITH RICE
A Book of Months
Written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak
Harper, $7.95
This indispensable Sendak classic consists of a poem about every month, each taking a hilarious turn as it ends in the words “chicken soup with rice.” There’s the repetition that helps kids develop spoken language, along with the humor that makes them love their favorite books, topped off by Sendak’s sublimely mischievous pen-and-ink drawings, with watercolor touches added in blue and yellow. Originally published as one of four diminutive books called the “Nutshell Library,” it fits the board book format exceptionally well, making me hope it will make its joyful way into the lives of a whole new generation of babies.
BUS STOPS
By Taro Gomi
Chronicle Books, $6.99
The Japanese author-illustrator Gomi is a great example of someone whose books originate full-sized, but scale down extremely well to board books. His art is bold and graphic, and his sensibility is attuned to the toddler’s day-to-day reality. This one has the repetition you want, as well as an intriguing degree of surprise on every page and a few adventurous words that will be understandable given the context. A bus makes its way along its route, with a different passenger getting off at every stop — at a building site, “four construction workers leap off,” while “downtown, “busy commuters rush off.” Finally, the bus gets to “our house,” where “we get off.” And then — bonus for bedtime reading! — The final page says good night to the bus, now in the garage.
GOODNIGHT, GORILLA
By Peggy Rathmann
Putnam, $6.99
Many consider this well-loved title from the ‘90s a superb example of the picture book form, because on every page, you have to “read” the story through what’s happening in the illustrations, not the words. I think that makes it an ideal board book, too — a baby or toddler can easily figure out what’s happening, even as the only words she’s hearing are “Goodnight, giraffe,” “Goodnight, lion,” and so on as a zookeeper makes his evening rounds, followed by a mischievous monkey who lets all the animals out of their cages. An older toddler can even memorize the words and soon be “reading” the book out loud herself. This one really does it all, including evoking the joyous sound of a little one laughing.
BRICK BY BRICK
By Giuliano Ferri
Minedition, $12.99
This lovely, slightly oversize board book is wordless, but its simple story unfolds in a way that a baby or toddler can follow with keen interest. We first see a white wall, which a mouse begins taking apart brick by brick. On each page, he’s joined by another animal as more bricks are taken out, until we can see the view into the countryside on the other side of the wall. Eventually, the wall is gone, and the animals stare across a river at another set of animals. Then they start building a bridge, using the bricks that were once a wall. The metaphor is so wonderfully clear — and so vitally important, especially in these captious times — you can practically feel the shards of hope lodging in your heart as you read it with a child.
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