The shit blog of Paul Chris Jones

Books for babies

4th June 2021 Paul Chris Jones

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This post is a list of books that my son liked when he was a baby. If you have a baby, and you want some books for said baby, you've come to the right place. If you don't have a baby, then you might find this post a bit boring to be honest. You can always read about my shoplifting experiences instead.

My first rhymes (Stephen Barker, Really Decent Books)

my first rhymes

It's a book of nursery rhymes - Humpty Dumpty, Little Miss Muffet, Hickory Dickory Dock, that sort of thing. The pictures are simple and the colours are bright. The pages are made of card so they're baby-proof.

My son likes this book; he gets me to read all the nursery rhymes to him.

There are only ten or so nursery rhymes in this book though, so if you want a book with more nursery rhymes, I recommend My Treasury of Nursery Rhymes by Igloo Books, which has all the nursery rhymes you've ever heard of and some you've never heard of.

The Wheels on the Bus (Kate Merritt, Ladybird Books)

wheels on the bus

Babies love nursery rhymes so here's another book of nursery rhymes. Nursery rhymes, that's all babies need. Probably.

This one's got things you can touch and flaps you can lift. It's good, which is surprising because it only has one review on Amazon, and that review gives it three stars.

Honestly it's worth getting this book just because it has "I'm a Dingly Dangly Scarecrow" in it.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

bear hunt

This is a fun book to read aloud. As the adult you have to do all the noises - swishy swashy, splish splash - which makes you feel like an idiot at first but then you soon get into it.

The first time I read it to my son, he laughed hysterically at every page as if it was the most hilarious thing he had ever heard and seen. But then every time I read it again, he never reacted like that again.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

hungry caterpillar

It's the very hungry caterpillar. What more do you want.

Also, the book's got holes for babies to stick their fingers in. This makes the book ten times that it would have been otherwise.

The Very Busy Spider (Eric Carle)

busy spider

Same author-illustrator as The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This book's about a spider building a web. It's repetitive which babies like and in some versions, the web is embossed so you can touch it.

Also it makes you do animal noises which is always good.

Goodnight Moon

goodnight moon

Reading this book is an experience unlike anything else. It's supposed to lull you off to sleep with its repetitive words and surreal imagery. But it's a bit creepy if you ask me. My son doesn't think so. It only scares me, a 34-year-old adult.

Still though, recommend.

That's Not My Donkey

thats not my donkey

There are hundreds of books now in the "That's not my" series. There's even "That's Not My Llama" and "That's Not My Sloth". I'm not making these up.

These books are good because there are things to touch on every page, and the pictures and simple and engaging.

They're very short though. I only recommend them for babies. Don't buy one for yourself thinking it's the literary equivalent of Moby Dick. You'll just be disappointed.

First Words (Roger Priddy)

first 100 words

A book of photos of things that babies encounter. Tree, duck, ball. Things like that. You can't go wrong really. You won't find heroin, syringe, needle in here because those aren't things babies encounter. For those things you'd have to buy a different book.

I also like that there's photos instead of drawings - it's realistic. Can't go wrong with gritty realism.

The Gruffalo

the gruffalo

It's the The Gruffalo. Enough said.

My First Animal Board Book (DK)

my first animal board book

A pocket-sized book of photos of animals. This was my son's favourite book for a while. He would insist on bringing this book everything with him. Whenever we went out, he would look through the pages while I pushed him in the pushchair.

It helps that the book is small because it's easy for babies to hold the book and turn the pages by themselves. And you can probably fit the book up your arse too, if you're into that sort of thing.

My little book of animals (Panini Books)

little book of animals

Another book of photos of animals. This one's bigger than the DK book so the word 'little' is a misnomer. My son never really got into this one. I think I bought it too late - he was already aged two by this point. It would have been good for a baby though I reckon.

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Paul Chris Jones is a writer and dad living in Girona, Spain. You can follow Paul on Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.