Start 'em young!
Babies will start to show interest in books earlier than you may think. They will reach for and explore board books and bath books as soon as they can reach for a toy. From birth and beyond, when a child explores a book with a loved adult, they are hearing the rhythm of language, expression and emotion, and building a rich and diverse network of words. Vocabulary building starts at home, and books are one of the best ways I know to experience new words and concepts and begin to understand how meaning is made and ideas are communicated through language and print.
Books really are the gift that keeps on giving – and with books for babies, the parents will gain as much from the books as the babies will so I always choose books which I think will have wide appeal! The list below are my ‘must-haves’ so add them to your shopping lists pronto.
My list of ‘Best Books for Toddlers' is here.

'This Small Blue Dot'
by Zeno Sworder

'Welcome Baby to This World!'
by Jess Racklyeft

'Let's Count Wildflowers'
by Tracey Gibbs

'Rudie Nudie Christmas'
by Emma Quay

'Peekaboo'
by Camilla Reid and Ingela P Arrhenius

'When I grow Up'
by Tim Minchin, Steve Antony (Illustrator)

'Little Puggle's Song'
by Vikki Conley

'Sleep Tight Platypup'
by Renee Treml

Little Bird's Day'
by Sally Morgan

‘Baby Business’
by Jasmine Seymour
‘My Sunbeam Baby’
by Emma Quay

‘Collecting Sunshine’
by Rachel Flynn and Tamsin Ainslie
‘Wide Big World’
by Maxine Beneba Clarke. Illustrated by Isobel Knowles.

‘Too Busy Sleeping’
by Zanni Louise and Anna Pignataro
‘Whoever You Are’
by Mem Fox. Illustrated by Leslie Staub

‘Dreamers’
by Ezekiel Kwaymullina. Illustrated by Sally Morgan
(Full review here)
‘For All Creatures’
by Glenda Millard. Illustrated by Rebecca Cool
(Full review here)

‘Puffling’
by Margaret Wild. Illustrated by Julie Vivas
‘A Boat of Stars’
edited by Margaret Connolly and Natalie Jane Prior
(Full review here)
‘Goodnight Me’
by Andrew Daddo. Illustrated by Emma Quay

‘Kissed by the Moon’
by Alison Lester

‘Birthday Baby’
by Davina Bell and Jane Godwin. Illustrated by Freya Blackwood
‘Baby Beats’
by Karen Blair

‘Yoga Babies’
by Fearne Cotton. Illustrated by Sheena Dempsey
‘At the Beach I See’
by Kamsani Bin Salleh

‘At the Zoo I See’
by Joshua Button and Robyn Wells

‘In the City I See’
by Tori-Jay Mordey