How to Bless Babies with Books
Today marks two weeks and two days that my husband and I have been caring for our newest grandchild (#3, almost three months old) during the workday. I’m happy to report that we–and the baby–are doing well!
I haven’t gotten in my workout routine most days. It’s too cold for us to bundle up the baby and take a walk. BUT I’m getting lots of exercise anyway . . .
Lift the baby (13 pounds, more than my set of handheld weights).
Sit down with the baby.
Stand up with the baby.
Bounce and sway with the baby.
You get the idea. And I am NOT complaining, not even for a second. We are having a great time.
It’s an interesting and enjoyable reversal to take “orders” from my daughter each morning. The one directive I especially loved was “Be sure and read to him.” She is a speech and language pathologist and knows better than I do about the importance reading to children to encourage language development and so much more.
And it’s never too early to begin.
So we read! I need to beef up my collection of books for babies … but the favorite so far is Bunny’s Rainbow Day, written and illustrated by Monica Wellington, which I found secondhand somewhere and bought because I love all things bunny.
The baby loves this! Simple shapes, bright colors and patterns, the high-contrast face of the bunny, and gently rhythmic text–it’s perfect. Though it’s not a Christian book, it’s easy to add comments like “God made the bunny” or “Thank you, God, for the birdie” as you read a book like this to your little one.
Our family’s favorite book for babies, however, has been Peek-a-Zoo, from the Little Scholastic line. Our first grandchild loved this fabulous touch-and-feel book filled with interesting textures! He nearly wore it out. But here’s a photo of his little brother (grandson #2) with the book a few months ago.
Yes, our family has been blessed with babies, and now we’re blessing our babies with books!
If you’d like to learn more about helping babies explore books, click over and read this article from Little Scholastic.
Do you have a favorite book for babies? Please leave a comment and tell us!