Reading with Your Baby - Tips from The Little Big Book Club

One of the best, easiest and fun things you can do with your baby is read to them. It is never too early to start reading stories together and it is one of the most important things you can do as a parent to help their developing brain. The sound of your voice and the cuddles that you give them will also help to establish a strong bond and loving relationship with your baby.

However, searching through the endless array of children’s books at the local library or book shop can be a challenging experience for many new parents. Fortunately for all SA families, The Little Big Book Club is here to provide some insight on the best types of books for young babies and share some tips on how to enjoy story time together right from the start.

Tips for sharing stories with babies:

• Babies tend to like books that have bright, clear and simple pictures

• Follow your baby’s lead when reading, if they get tired or restless stop and try again later

• Take books everywhere you go. Keep some in the car, nappy bag or pram and enjoy reading while you are out and about.

• Visit your local library and join one of the free Baby Bounce sessions and explore stories, rhymes and songs together.

• Introduce books as part of a bed time routine. This can help to calm your baby before bed and is also the perfect opportunity for cuddles.

Types of books:

• Board books - made of thick, glossy cardboard, these books are perfect for young babies as the pages can be wiped clean and they are less likely to get damaged if dropped or thrown.

• Bath books - generally made of plastic, these waterproof books are perfect for reading in between splashes.

• Cloth books – a great choice for young babies, cloth books have the advantage of being machine washable and often include flaps, mirrors or textural elements for little hands to explore.

• High contrast books - as a baby’s vision develops, they may prefer looking at books with high contrast colours, shapes and patterns; for example - black and white books.

Our favourite books for babies:

Here are a few tried and tested baby books that we highly recommend:

• Baby Gets Dressed by Katrina Germein

• See Me Move by Sascha Hutchinson

• Where is The Green Sheep? by Mem Fox

• Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

• Spot series by Eric Hill

• Maisy series by Lucy Cousins

If you are planning a visit to the Pregnancy, Babies and Children’s Expo, come and meet The Little Big Book Club team and get some great ideas on how you can read, play, talk and sing with your baby every day. Plus, scan your QR code to go into the draw to win books for your family.

Find out more about Raising Literacy Australia here