What books do you buy for baby showers, etc.

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What books do you buy for baby showers, etc.

1MrsLee
Gen 22, 2007, 10:33 pm

Questo messaggio è stato cancellato dall'autore.

2homeschoolmom
Gen 22, 2007, 11:23 pm

I love to share Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt. It thoroughly discusses the advantages of reading aloud to your child and reading aloud together through adulthood. Its wonderful!

3MrsLee
Gen 23, 2007, 3:57 am

I had a message, but it was stolen by the internet gremlins!

I just bought Mother Goose, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. I love the rythmic sounds of the ditties, and the pictures are very nicely done. Also Goodnight Moon, one of our all-time favorite bedtime stories. The Little Engine That Could, the baby is a boy and all boys need this book, right? Last, but not least, Ten Little Ladybugs. It looks like a nice touchy-feely book for babies.

I find it very hard to choose! I love so many of them. Max Lucado wrote some lovely stories, but they are for older children I think.

4kellyholmes
Gen 23, 2007, 8:08 am

I usually get the mother a subscription to Mothering magazine and then I get 2-3 picture books from my favorites list, depending on what's on the shelf at my local bookstore. Here are some of my favorite titles:
Mrs. Biddlebox
Click, Clack, Moo
Our Tree Named Steve
Any of the "Henry" books about Thoreau
Big Momma Makes the World
The Lorax
Horton Hears a Who
Any of the "George and Martha" books by Marshall
The Sissy Duckling
The Old Woman Who Named Things
And Tango Makes Three
The Giving Tree
A Monkey Among Us

5ellaminnowpea
Gen 23, 2007, 9:03 am

I stay away from Goodnight Moon because it is so very popular ... most new moms end up with multiple copies. I like to give The Read Aloud Handbook and The Random House Book of Poetry for Children.

6suzecate
Modificato: Gen 23, 2007, 11:38 am

I usually give Sylvia Long's Mother Goose. It's my favorite nursery rhyme book of all thanks to Long's gorgeous animal illustrations and gentle tone. (I also love Clare Beaton's hand-sewn fabric illustrations in Mother Goose Remembers, but it's overkill to give two Mother Goose volumes.) Another book I've bought for quite a few showers is Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young. None of my gift recipients had already had those two, so no exchanges needed.

The books I've bought on reading for parents of new babies have been The Read-Aloud Handbook and Great Books for Babies and Toddlers. And by the same author for preschoolers and young kids: Great Books for Girls, Great Books for Boys, and Great Books About Things Kids Love. (I have read and enjoyed Honey for a Child's Heart and often recommend it to Christian friends.)

I have also given a number of MaryAnn F. Kohl's art activity books, especially First Art for first birthdays.

I've given a lot of Jan Brett's books as gifts (she's among my favorite illustrators and storytellers). Once my friends' kids get a few years older, I'll be sure to get them something by Patricia Polacco. Jamberry is a great favorite of my daughter's, and that's a frequent gift also - I'm quite surprised no one has already had that one!

7KromesTomes
Gen 23, 2007, 1:03 pm

I'm not sure this is still in print, and it's best for people from a certain demographic, but Stay up late "by" David Byrne is pretty cool ... it mixes the lyrics from the Talking Heads song of the same name with some very kid-friendly illustrations.

8BoPeep
Gen 23, 2007, 2:20 pm

We gave an online friend in San Diego a 'virtual baby shower' last summer, sending books from all over the planet (she's an editor). I sent The Tiger Who Came To Tea and Monkey Puzzle, another British friend sent The Elephant and the Bad Baby, and I know she also got The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Bark, George, But Not The Hippopotamus, Jack in search of Art, Philadelphia Chickens, Where the Wild Things are, Go Dog Go, Guess How Much I Love You, The Runaway Bunny, I Love You Stinkyface,I Miss You Stinkyface, Time for school, Stinkyface, The Foot Book, Hand Hand Fingers Thumb, Put Me in the Zoo, Big Fish Little Fish, Counting Kisses, and a Dr Seuss ABC.

9MrsLee
Gen 23, 2007, 10:06 pm

#8 How cool is that! Almost makes me want another baby :) But not quite.

10tripleblessings
Gen 24, 2007, 12:02 pm

Many of the books listed by BoPeep are favourites at our house. For a baby shower I would choose Love you forever by Robert Munsch and some board books by Sandra Boynton. Maybe a collection of poems by A.A. Milne or A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes by Kady Macdonald Denton.

Hmm, I have a shower to go to on Friday, I will have to hit the bookstore!

11ciciha
Gen 28, 2007, 9:32 pm

Isn't it funny, I bet we all gift others with the books we ourselves loved the best! I know I try to get a selection of my own and my children's favorites:

Angus and the Ducks
Blueberries for Sal and One Morning in Maine
Caps for Sale
Hop on Pop and Dr. Suess's ABC
Mr. Silly's Do's and Don't's Oh no, is that out of print?
When We Were Very Young
The Beginner's Bible (original version)
Goodnight Moon Even if she WILL get 10 other copies
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (sometimes -- if it's winter)
Corduroy by Don Freeman

It does get expensive!

12MrsLee
Gen 29, 2007, 3:01 am

It was very hard for me, I wanted to get A Child's Garden of Verses, illustrated by Tasha Tudor, but I knew she was having a boy, so I went for trains and bugs instead. My son loved the poetry, but I think it was because I loved reading it to him, and I wasn't sure how this mother would feel about it.

13ryn_books
Gen 29, 2007, 4:43 am

Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is one of my favourite baby/toddler birthday gift books. Beautiful, imaginative illustrations and story make it so enjoyable to read to a young child.

14ciciha
Gen 29, 2007, 8:59 pm

>12 MrsLee:

Gee that's too bad MrsLee; I never thought of Stevenson as being girly, do you think he is? Doesn't Garden of Verses include that poem about the Land of Counterpane, the boy sick in bed staging mock battles on the squares of his quilt? And the poem about having to go to bed during daylight in the summer? I read those poems to my boys... they liked 'em.

Three cheers for poetry for boys!

I guess there's still Shel Silverstein. Couldn't accuse him of being girly.

15MrsLee
Gen 30, 2007, 3:28 pm

#14 No, the poetry wasn't girly, but the illustrations were. At least they struck me as being so. Beautiful though, I wouldn't have minded having it for myself, but I already have three other editions.

Actually, one of my sons loved poetry when he was young. Shil Silverstein, Ogden Nash, Robert Lewis Stevenson and many others.

16imayb1
Gen 30, 2007, 5:33 pm

For a newborn, I have given Games Babies Play, Eric Carle's bug books (in board book version), Alexandra Day's Carl the Dog books (in board book version), and DK board books like My First Animals. DK uses real photos which appeals to me, as well as to children.

17sflax
Feb 4, 2007, 10:20 pm

Sandra Boynton's board books - Moo, Baa, La La La especially - are great for the just born, and entertaining for their parents. I also have to recommend Dr. Seuss's ABC. If anything can develop phonemic awareness in really little babies, that can.

18lollipopguild Primo messaggio
Modificato: Feb 13, 2007, 1:27 pm

I agree with Chanale. We have four different Mother Goose versions at home and Sylvia Long's Mother Goose is the most loved. Part of its charm is that Long's illustrations are filled with animals with the most expressive faces (like Rosemary Wells' but better). There is a design element or motif on one page that is hidden in the next, which makes a fun game for toddlers especially (example the spoon in Hey Diddle Diddle is the same spoon on the next page that Little Miss Muffet has dropped on the floor). And finally, the more "upsetting" nursery rhymes have become cleverly harmless: Humpty Dumpty falls to reveal a duckling; "down will come baby cradle and all" is a baby robin learning to fly.

My other favorites for baby gifts are: Look, Look! or Look at the Animals the black and white books by Peter Linenthal, Each Peach Pear Plum or Peek-a-Boo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. For babies with big brothers and sisters Schulman's The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury or Eisen's A Treasury of Children's Literature are wonderful for all to enjoy.

19MerryMary
Mar 6, 2007, 12:24 pm

Oh, my. Nobody has mentioned Pat the Bunny. I have given dozens of these books as gifts. I only wish it were better bound. They tend to get loved to death, and don't last for another generation.

20aefs33
Mar 25, 2007, 9:14 pm

Twelve Gifts of Birth ,The Costanzo,Charlene 19.95 ISBN:0066211042
This is a book that I put in every customer's hands if they were buying a book for a shower or new baby. Especially if this were a relative.

21MerryMary
Mar 26, 2007, 10:37 am

Twelve Gifts of Birth is a terrific book! I loved it enough to buy it for a new grandma - ME! However, this book is more for the parents - and for the child when he is older. I was thinking more of a gift for the baby himself, or herself.

22mydomino1978
Mag 14, 2007, 4:29 pm

I am giving a shower next week, and I tried to pick the books my children loved. Pokey Little Puppy and where the wild things are which I never could see what the attraction was but they all loved it.Goodnight moon, my favorite Love you forever-cry everytime I read it. Any of the Little Critter books. I have a lot of childrens nonsense poems memorized and I notice that even little babies love the rhythm of poetry. I used to read poetry out loud to a fussy baby I took care of - but then she was so spoiled it was the only time she was happy.

23jennyifer24
Mag 20, 2007, 6:11 pm

I sent books earlier this month since I couldn't make it to the shower:

Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss (love this one!)
Belly Button Book! by Sandra Boynton
Corduroy by Don Freeman (one of my all-time favorites!)

24ivyd
Mag 23, 2007, 12:50 pm

My favorite choices are the classics, especially for a first child:

~Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
~When We Were Very Young or the 4-volume set by A.A. Milne
~Mother Goose

I also frequently give 2 of my children's favorites, which are less well-known today:

~King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood
~Miss Rumphius by Barbara Clooney

And, my own favorite is now available again, ALL pages of it, republished by Purple House Press:

~The Surprise Doll by Morrell Gipson

25hearts3134
Giu 5, 2007, 11:31 pm

My 2 year old daughter has loved Chicka Chicka Boom Boom ever since she was tiny. One of my recent favorites that she loves too is Llama Llama Red Pajama. I could read it over and over and she now reads it back to me with a favorite or memorable word from each page! It is extremely adorable.

26Nickelini
Modificato: Giu 23, 2007, 10:41 pm

I always try to find a copy of the Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf.

Another favourite is Each Peach Pear Plum, by the Ahlbergs.

I make it a point to give only books that I as a parent am willing to read again and again. Some of the books that are popular gifts just make my teeth itch . . . I'm talking about the ones that make me groan when I see them.

27tinylittlelibrarian
Modificato: Ott 3, 2007, 11:09 pm

I second (third? fourth?) Each Peach Pear Plum - I love it! (Though I haven't given it at a shower.)

My current fave gift book is I Kissed the Baby! by Mary Murphy in board book form. It's got the black/white contrast for tiny eyes plus kissing and babies! What more could you want? :-)

I've also given Tana Hoban's White on Black and Black on White, again the black/white contrast and very, very simple for tiny babes.

I love Margaret Miller's Look Baby! board books - babies love looking at other babies and these have lovely multicultural babies doing things like eating and dressing.

I've also been known to give books by the utterly fabulous Sandra Boynton, particularly Snuggle Puppy and Moo Baa La La La.

For Christmas I'm giving my 18-month old niece Snow Sounds by David Johnson - she lives in a snowy place and it has wonderful illustrations and just snowy sounds for the text. My just-born nephew is getting Woof-Woof! by Sami - it's a black and white foam book with die-cutswhere the pages flip over to make new animal faces.

(I must confess that I loathe, loathe, loathe Love You Forever, but that's just me.)

29herland Primo messaggio
Ott 17, 2007, 11:07 pm

Have you seen Llama Llama Made at Mama? Too cute! A great sequel!

30herland
Modificato: Ott 17, 2007, 11:17 pm

As a children's librarian, I always give books as gifts for baby showers. My favorites include:

For the youngest babies - black-and-white boards like Look at the Animals and Look Look! by Petr Linenthal. I like these more than Tana Hobans as they have more exciting images with action.

Counting Kisses by karen Katz or any of her boards.

I Went Walking or Let's Go Visiting by Sue Williams have great rhythm for little ones and can be enjoyed from birth to preschoolers.

Yes, Goodnight Moon! and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Martin and Carle.

31zodiacdeb
Ott 18, 2007, 8:27 am

#4: Big Momma Makes the World

This is a wonderful, wonderful book by Phyllis Root. Two thumbs up!

32alphaorder
Ott 18, 2007, 8:51 am

For a 5 year old birthday party I give My Book About Me, which I had as a child in the early '70s. Kids fill in questions about their life and create thier own book. I gave it to my daughter last year, along with my filled in copy, and it has started many conversations between us about my childhood and how it is different than hers. It is fun too, becasue things have changed (clocks etc.) since the '70s, but the book has not. Many a mother has called me since their daughters' parties to tell me how much fun they are having with the book.

33ohmyNola
Gen 22, 2008, 11:57 pm

Did anyone mention the author Karen Katz? My daughter has loved all of her books.

34eastofoz
Gen 24, 2008, 4:54 pm

I like to give Peter Rabbit or the whole 23 book box set--but it's not always easy to get.

Winnie the Pooh is also nice to give.

Some other favourites are: Love You Forever, Thumbelina, The House that Jack Built

There is a really cool American website called I See Me (www.iseeme.com) where they publish a story for you based on your child's name. They have a boy version and a girl version. It's really cute and talks about (for the boys) how all the animals in the animal kingdom thought up a name for the baby. It goes through each letter of the first and family name saying which animal suggested it--ie M is the moose or E is the elephant. It looks just like a regular book you'd buy at the store and it' s not horribly expensive. I've given it to a few new parents and they really liked. It's quite original.

35aviddiva
Feb 15, 2008, 1:26 am

I like to give the Iona Opie/Rosemary Wells Mother Goose books, Goodnight Gorilla, The Runaway Bunny, and, because I'm a music teacher, books that are songs: Fiddle-i-fee, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Down by the Station are all good. I love Sandra Boynton, but don't usually give those because somehow they seem to end up in everyone's library anyway. I'm not a great fan of Love you forever, but I like Mama, Do You Love Me? a lot.

36jhedlund
Mar 6, 2008, 5:48 pm

I know I got multiple copies of some of the most popular - like Goodnight Moon and Guess How Much I Love You, so I try to go with ones that my kids have loved but are less common. Here's a few:

Jamberry, Bruce Degen
The Very Lonely Firefly, Eric Carle
I Love you as much
Time for Bed
Ten Sleepy Sheep
Piggies, Audrey Wood

37mynenni
Mar 10, 2008, 7:23 pm

If they have an older child, I get them Purple Hair? I Don't Care by Dianne Young. This is a great book for the older ones to read as they wait for baby.
I also find a collection of board books for the baby. These will introduce books at an early and they will be cherished for years

38bookiteis
Apr 14, 2008, 6:58 am

I too like to give The Read Aloud Handbook to stress the importance of reading to children.

39bnbookgirl
Mag 27, 2008, 8:23 pm

I'll Love You Forever is a great book, also Someday, but this is more for a girl.

40yareader2
Mag 28, 2008, 11:12 pm

Guess How Much I love You by Sam McBratney

Peek-A Who by Nina Laden

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

41Aquila
Mag 30, 2008, 1:01 am

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd is the classic gift book for littlies here. The yellow digger would be another one.

42Ciruelo
Mag 31, 2008, 4:24 pm

A new favorite of mine to buy is Orange Pear Apple Bear
by Emily Gravett. Five words, four used in the title, make up the entire book with charming illustrations to match. It can be read endlessly and grows sillier and sweeter with each rereading.

43Nickelini
Mag 31, 2008, 10:48 pm

#27 - (I must confess that I loathe, loathe, loathe Love You Forever, but that's just me.)

-------------------

No, it's not just you. I belong to a children's literature listserv and this book has been discussed endlessly. Many, many people passionately detest it. I too belong to that club.

44jhedlund
Giu 2, 2008, 8:11 pm

#43 - I agree. I feel like Love You Forever is more a book for adults. I always thought it would scare my kids to start thinking of me old and frail. I feel like that would launch a lot of conversations I'm not ready to have - especially with very young children.

45megkrahl
Lug 6, 2008, 7:43 pm

When my friends gave me a baby shower I got two copies of Make Way for Ducklings. It was given to me as much for the story as it was for the setting. I lived an hour north of Boston at the time and was about to move.

Still, I think it is an excellent baby shower gift.

46yareader2
Lug 14, 2008, 10:26 pm

I just picked up a beautiful hardcover Make Way for Ducklings at a tag sale for $1. I couldn't walk by it, it was too precious to let get thrown out. Some books should just be kept.

47cushlareads
Lug 20, 2008, 4:31 am

This is a great thread - #10 MrsLee, I laughed at your comment about **almost** wanting another baby - me too! Our little one is 18 months and two are plenty for us!!

It's also funny seeing the differences across countries. I've never seen Goodnight Moon here in New Zealand but know the Hairy Maclary series off by heart. We've had some great American books though - Vote for Duck and Click Clack Moo.

I did a bulk shop today for newborn presents and came home with Moo Baa La La and Doggies by Sandra Boynton, Fix It Duck by Jez Alborough, the Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson (my kids and I love everything she's written), ummm... Harry the Dirty Dog, and the Baby's Catalogue by Janet Ahlberg. I can see lots of them already mentioned here.

Nickelini, I LOVED the Story of Ferdinand when I was little and hadn't thought of it till I read your post. Thanks.

And I've never heard of Love you Forever but I'm off to look it up in the library catalogue now...

Has anyone else read Crocodile Blues? I think it's set in New York - it feels like it anyway - and both our 4 year old and 1 year old are crazy about it. It doesn't have any words, just beautiful fold out pictures.

48flapdoodleDeb
Ago 8, 2008, 12:00 am

Good Night Moon
Deb

49Angeleyes1382
Ago 11, 2008, 5:04 pm

I like to get books that a portable particularly ones with a ring around them that attaches to the stroller, shopping basket, car seat, and most importantly the diaper bag.

Books such as, Water, Water Everywhere by Baby Einstein are great for the bathtub. My son enjoyed books that had different textures he could touch like, That's Not My Tractor and Duckling and Friends.

Of course you cannot forget classics such as, From Head to Toe and Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?.

50leahbird
Modificato: Ago 12, 2008, 12:09 pm

I don't have kids of my own, but I've been a nanny for several years for a few different families and have picked up some great tricks of the trade along the way. And now I'm getting to use those to help buy gifts for my friends' babies!

I always liked (but didn't love) Love You Forever. The repetition was a little much for me. However, I worked for a family that insisted their children be read books in 3 languages (English, French, and Spanish), so I had to get creative. I understand French fairly well, but pronunciation is hard for me. I came across a copy of Je t'Aimerai Toujours, which is Love You Forever in French. It was a godsend: the French is easy and the repetition actually worked to my advantage. Now, I give that to all my friends who are interested in raising their kids with a multicultural awareness.

I ALWAYS give at least one Babar book, my favorite being Babar's World Tour. Harold and the Purple Crayon is another of my favorites. I love to give Madeline books, too, because I loved them so much as a child. For my funkier friends, I usually add in Anasi the Spider. For my more literary friends, I go with Up in the Tree by Margaret Atwood. The reading level suggested is 4-8, but I have found that getting a book Mom can enjoy too is a really important thing.

51Nickelini
Ago 12, 2008, 5:44 pm

When language is an issue, I buy Good Dog Carl. It only has one line, which, if you're not familiar with the book, is: "Good dog, Carl." I've given this to my husband's relatives in Italy and it's easy to translate the one line for them. :-)

52librarianjojo
Ago 30, 2008, 5:52 pm

I see several good recommendations on this thread. I usually buy a few board books for baby showers, and I love Sandra Boynton. A book for baby to take in the bath is cool too. Then I include one book of Mother Goose. Occasionally, I throw in LOVE YOU FOREVER, not for the child, but for the Mommy. Not one of my favorites, but I haven't met many new moms or moms to be who don't like it.

53leahbird
Modificato: Set 3, 2008, 2:43 pm

I just had another shower to attend this past weekend. I posted before about always giving at least one Babar book, but then I found the mother of all gifts. Ok, so it's probably more for the parents and for when the kid gets a little older, but I couldn't resist and I just love it.

Bonjour Babar! is a collection of all 6 original Babar books, those written by Jean de Brunhoff and published before he died. It was a huge smash hit at this past shower.

54ingalls05
Nov 17, 2008, 7:36 pm

I always liked the book "Love you Forever" by Robert Munsch. I think it's really cute for a new mom!

55yareader2
Nov 18, 2008, 4:28 am

There is a new book out for baby presents, The Moon Shines Down by Margaret Wise Brown. It is an old manuscript that was found in a trunk at a Vermont barn. It was brought to life by an illustrator.

56yareader2
Nov 18, 2008, 4:28 am

Questo messaggio è stato cancellato dall'autore.

57Chelanne
Ott 13, 2010, 10:46 pm

I posted on my blog a top 10 list of board books. Please check it out. I hope you find it helpful.

http://books4learning.blogspot.com/2010/10/top-10-board-books-for-children.html

58shearon
Ott 14, 2010, 12:16 pm

Goodnight, Moon and Runaway Bunny, for sure. Buy them in bulk because if your friends are having children (or grandchildren), it's a pleasure having these favorites on hand as a standard gift. And don't worry about babies getting too many copies - they wear them out, or throw up on them, or the dog chews them up...

59Taneekabdasilva
Mag 20, 2014, 10:55 pm

If they're religious, I would buy them a baby bible.

60everead
Giu 27, 2014, 2:17 pm

I posted about this on my blog as well. I love Cinnamon Baby, Nursery Rhyme Comics, Pat the Bunny, I Kissed the Baby and Walk On! You can find more of my thoughts about these ones here: http://www.evereadbooks.com/2012/05/books-to-give-at-baby-showers.html

612wonderY
Ott 5, 2020, 9:12 am

The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big, Hungry Bear

Both my sister and I gave copies to my daughter. Two years on, it’s a favorite in the household. Granddaughter can “read” certain pages all by herself.