My son is getting better at sitting still for board books! This month, he took control of turning the pages of a few of them, wanting to turn them over and over again. It fun to watch him try to read: I tell him the book is upside down and turn it over for him. Then he promptly turns it upside down again. Apparently, he likes it better his way.

My Very First Numbers Book by Eric Carle

Eric Carle doesn’t just list numbers with pictures for My Very First Numbers Book: this board book has two pages to turn for each number. The top portion of the book follows in numerical order, with digits and an appropriate number of squares. The bottom portion of the book has illustrations of fruits, with each page showing a different number. The idea is to match the number on top with the correct number of fruit pictured on the bottom. I like Eric Carle’s illustrations and I love the concept of learning the numbers by practicing. My son is still too young to really grasp that concept, but he sure loved having double pages to turn!

How Do Dinosaurs ….? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

I love the “How Do Dinosaurs…?” series by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Mark Teague. There are many, many in the series. Here are some that I’ve read:

The illustrations are very cute. The dinosaurs are either having temper tantrums or acting properly while human parents oversee their progress. Most of the books follow a pattern. The first half of the book have questions: “Do dinosaurs [insert bad behavior]?”; the last few pages have the answer: “No, dinosaurs [insert good behavior]!” In each illustration, the name of the dinosaur is subtly written somewhere in the illustration.

My favorite one that I’ve read (Count to Ten) doesn’t follow that format. Instead, it shows a dinosaur playing with his toys as he counts them. It also ends with “Once he’s counted from one to ten, how does a dinosaur count again? Again!”, which I think is very fun. I could read it over and over (and we did).

Some of these are only board books; some are only in hardcover books; some are either. Because of my son’s age, I looked for the board books where possible (at least at the library).  Which do you prefer to buy for your young kids? Hardcover, softcover, or board books?

Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins

Remember I told you my son is musical? Well, Hand Hand Fingers Thumb by Al Perkins has a rhythm that he smiles at, even at 14 months old.

Hand
Hand
Fingers
Thumb

One thumb
One thumb
Drumming on a drum.

Millions of monkeys
Millions of drums
Millions of monkeys
Drumming on drums

The board book is about half the length of the full-length original (apparently now out of print I can’t find a link on Amazon for it; it’s at the bookstores), but it’s still fun.

What are you reading with your child(ren) this month?