Books for a newborn

[Krakinou]

My first baby is due on NYE after 8 years of infertility. I love reading and some of my favorite childhood memories are linked to favorite books so I have a big list in my head of the classics I want to buy (all the Alhberg, Judith Kerr, etc.). That said I also loved getting books as Christmas presents and I know my mum especially is probably looking forward to giving, so I’m trying to restrain myself from just buying all these at once. I’d like my daughter to have that same excitement of going to the library and bookshop and discovering new things as she grows.

So my question is, what kind of books can I read to my baby from birth to 1 year? There seem to be so many out there that are just boring photos of animals and the name of the animal, and I want something that sparks my imagination too.
Or do I just read aloud to her from whatever I’m reading?

And am I being unrealistic in thinking I will be able to read to her at all in the early days?

(I don’t know why I mentioned the infertility- seems silly and irrelevant reading my post back so please go ahead and ignore. I think it’s just because reading together is one of the things I was most excited about and saddest to lose when I was going through it, so I really want to make the most of this part of parenting.)

I used to read to my babies when they were tiny. I loved the authors you’ve mentioned, also Guess how much I love you

When they are very little they like black and white images, DS loved Goodnight Moon which has colour pages and black and white pages.

I sometimes read my DCs short rhyming books at that age to get them used to the flow of our language.

… but I mostly read The Economist to them out loud, because it was interesting to me and has bright reds throughout that kept their attention!

Ok, I get the enthusiasm but chill the beans.

We introduced story at bedtime at around 4 months. Before that both had horrific witching hours (look this up) and there was no point. Then we just read a variety of children's picture books.

They are now 3 and 5 and have more say in what books we read together. Many of the original ones we had will be going to the charity shop at Xmas because they don't match their interests anymore.

That said, for the real early days, read aloud from a book you're reading. They will just like hearing your voice and won't be able to focus much on anything. A good book for you is 'your baby week by week.'

Daunt Books does an annual children's book subscription. My DD godfather got her this one year. She got a new book every month during the year. Some really good ones we'd never pick ourselves.

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, but more for you, when you need a good weep!

It Had To Be You by Loryn Brantz is a beautiful book for young babies, the pictures are all black, white and red and she wrote it after experiencing fertility issues so would be perfect for you!

We read "Apple Pear Orange Bear "- Emily Gravett a lot at that age. Also the Anansi stories and Cycling Weekly!

I read to my boy from about 3 months old at bedtimes. Just became part of our evening routine - bath, bottle, story, bed.

He loved things with rhythm and rhyme, so Mr Brown Can Moo (fun sounds) and Green Eggs and Ham etc by Dr Seuss were a hit. Julia Donaldson is great too.

When they’re tiny it’s less about the books and more about connection with you and learning language. Eye contact, giggles, babbling along etc. There was obvious pleasure and wide eyed wonder in my boy when he was read to even as a tiny baby but I think it was more gazing at what his parents than the book! So don’t feel you have to stock up on children’s books - at that age anything will do.

e.g.

😊

Each Peach Pear Plum is so sweet for babies - the Ahlbergs have definitely stood the test of time!

I read the first Harry Potter books to DS1 when he was about 4 months old. I wanted to read them myself and he was mesmerised by the sound of my voice so I got the time to do it.

I do not for one single second think he understood any of it!!

Thank you so much for the answers. I will take a look at all of these :)

@Twizbe 😂 I know, I’m trying. But also trying not to think too much about the inevitable feeling like a zombie bit that awaits, and books get me much more excited than tiny socks.

Mine seemed/seems to like Miffy. She can talk now and tends to bring me a Miffy book each day saying "read book" so I guess it's a success. I started reading to her at a young age too, just to introduce her to books really (I also love reading).

Before the age they can hold a baby book and engage with an age appropriate more complex story at bedtime when you read to them, you can read anything that you don't consider to be totally inappropraite for them to hear at all. So just anything you want to read really that isn't horror or crime or overtly sexual presumably! Or if you want it to be child-orientated, try:

Paddington
Wind in the Willows
How to Train Your Dragon
Narnia
Winnie the Pooh and the other poetry books by A A Milne.
The Hobbit and at Christmas the Father Christmas letters
animal based stories by Michael Morpurgo

Just have a wander in the bookstore and see what you fancy reading from everything in the children's section that has chapters. These may become familiar loved stories that they then return to much later for bedtime stories and then to read themselves. Although they won't like everything you do so prepare for the odd disappointment.

When they were really tiny, they'd just get bits of whatever I was reading at the time.

Try books from the ‘say hello to the animals’ set by Ian Whybrow. They’re sweet when they’re really little ( and not too long!) and became firm favourites with my two when they could point to the ones they wanted. Lots of rhyme, repetition and chances for them to join in with animal sounds when a bit older.
I must have read ‘hello baby animals’ and ‘hello snowy animals’ more times than I could ever count.

Poetry or anything with a rhythm is good for that age. But really, whatever you are reading is absolutely fine.