Toy ideas for baby who's only obsessed with books!

[Pippymcphee]

My baby will be 9 months old at Christmas. We aren't buying her too much as she's so young, but we've got her some new books, flash cards, and a little doll.
However, family and friends etc keep asking us what they can buy, and the only interest she has is books. She is book obsessed!
We already have SO many, and we also have a weekly trip to the library.

I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas on toys that might interest a baby who loves books, that aren't books themselves 😅. Maybe your baby has been the same and you have some suggestions?
I would love to find her some toys she's interested in!

TIA

Bubbles!

We had some ace bath books- that change colour when you sink them in the water. The other fab bath toy we have is a bath pram and doll (baby born)- the doll swims in the bath by rotating it's arms....

At that age we for- magnetic tiles (still a firm favourite 4 years later and we always take them away on holiday and for days out etc)....
Doll and pram
Some bath toys- balls, boats etc
Ice cream cart- we got the Melissa and Doug counter
And lots of things for the tuff tray- animals, fake grass, rice, lentils, things for pouring and scooping, a tea pot, some cups etc.....

Thank you. This is so helpful! I've got one of the Melissa and Doug puzzles on our list now and also the Tomy eggs.
So many good ideas on this thread!

@Pippymcphee I know exactly what you mean! My DD1 was very interested in books as a baby! We moved onto rhymes and poems by 1. Books bought last for quite a long time and they get a lot of pleasure from them. I hope you have Each Peach Pear Plum and Peepo!

Other toys: Gross motor development. Pushing, pulling, banging and building. Building blocks and shapes were popular. Posting shapes, stacking toys and baby jigsaw puzzles.

Your daughter is maybe a little young, but one of the things that lasted longest in our house was foam bath letters and numbers, that stick to the side of the bath when you wet them. Ok so for now they will just be fun, colourful shapes, but she can still make patterns with them. When she gets older she can make words and count with them. (Tip getting 2 tubs might help because our tub didn't have many of each letter/digit which is very annoying when you do start reading/spelling/counting!)

So many great ideas on here, thank you everyone!

Stacking cups
Shape sorter
Winnie The Pooh cuddly toy
ABC wooden bricks

So many great ideas on here, thank you everyone!

You have to watch it with bath books, as they can get the idea that all books can be played with in water speaks the voice of experience 😂

Fisher Price Little People. I bought DGS the farm last year, when he was 1, and he absolutely loves it but there’s other sets too.

Stickle bricks are easier for them to use than Duplo imo

DGS also loves this fishing game. Jacques toys have some lovely ideas for presents.

DGS is book mad too which I love but it’s nice to buy them toys as well.

100% get her magnatiles

How about one of those books that has her name/face included?

Or I’ve seen a book about my special people, where you can slide in photos of family?

Puppets to bring stories alive?

Bookbags - look on Etsy!

I so want your little one to be called Matilda

We have the photo idea down already, but I'll definitely look at the book bags.
We have a big list now, so more than enough ideas, but I'm saving everyone's suggestions for future reference because they're so good.
I can't believe I didn't think of these things, my mind has just been blank 😅

what about a fabric book case where she can then see all her books? my daughter loves this one and she's 18 months

www.gltc.co.uk/products/sling-bookcase-natural?variant=55038669586780&country=GB&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20711493588&gbraid=0AAAAAqSY0GP_yA2sTPemuCgkXDYhJn3EH&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkKqIooL8kAMVAJBQBh2FPDSmEAQYAyABEgJldfD_BwE

money towards a tonie box? We weren’t sure on one so early but one of our friends got her one anyway!! And she’s absolutely loved it from day 1, music and stories! And makes brilliant gifts going forward as people can buy the stories she wants

Bubble machine

If your child likes books, I don’t see how a machine is better. My DDs liked the pictures. I talked to them about colours, shapes, characters etc. Not sure a machine is quite the same. As they get older they learn how to turn pages and recognise sounds and words. CDs are ok for the car, but I’d go with books over a tonie.

Agree - For me, the whole point of her enjoying books and stories at this age, is sitting down with me to read them and seeing the pictures etc.

Ahhh I was like this but absolutely adore our Tonie box when we got given one!

She loves “reading along” (we’re only 2) and listening to the stories! It hasn’t taken away our reading together nor her love of books at all! Just something else to do alongside it!

There’s other Tonies not just books- songs/podcasts and all sorts!

And there is a limit to how many books you can have- I say this as a bookworm who loves pretty books and also works in a library surrounded by books needing rehoming 🤣 even with cycling them around you do reach a limit physically!!

For Christmas last year I bought my completely book obsessed 9 month old (now a book obsessed 20 month old!) an alphabet peg puzzle which went down a storm and she still uses every day.
She also loves puzzles (that started at about 15 months)
Blocks with letters on.
I found an abacus with number tiles and she loves getting the tiles out.
A deck of playing cards.
A shape sorter
A pull along toy
Any character soft toys from a book she loves.

I'll definitely consider one for the future. I've seen the Little Tikes dream machine, which I think is similar to a Tonie box, but it displays the book pages on the wall with a projector. That looks cool!

Thanks! This is cool to read - I really hope the obsession continues with my girl too. I was really hoping she'd be a book lover 😃

I would suggest reading through the play schemas and seeing if you can match her behaviour to a schema (there might be something other than looking at books that she does -- moving the books around or lining them up, for example). Then look at toys that match that schema.

As this is her first Christmas, why don't you ask for books which she will treasure as she grows up. Paddington, Winnie the Pooh, The Hobbit, Mr Men etc with a message inside each one from the person who gave them to her.