Thursday, February 20, 2014

The Best Books for Babies 6-9 Months Old


Babies between the ages of six and ninth months can be so much fun (and so much work)!  Many are sitting and moving around.  It was so much fun to finally watch B sit up on his own and turn the pages of a book.  It is really amazing how quickly he learned to do this!  It was during this time that he had his first favorite book, Eric Carle's Have You Seen My Cat?  I remember one night when I was alone with him in the late afternoon and he was fussy.  We were reading this book, and every time I got to the last page, he cried until I started the book again!  My husband and I knew the book by heart and were once able to soothe him when he was fussing in the car by reciting the book to him.

We were never completely sure what little B saw in Have You Seen My Cat? (and we will both confess that it is not our favorite Eric Carle book), but I imagined it had something to do with how repetitive the book is! Other favorite books during this time were interactive touch-and-feel books.  B also began to take an interest in flap books (and I took a related interest in scotch tape). Babies at this age are working towards object permanence, or understanding that objects out of sight still exist (and there is a similar peak in separation anxiety as babies understand that parents exist when out of sight).  Flap book are a great way to work on object permanence as babies find the hidden pictures again and again.  They are also great for working on that pincer grasp!

Here are some of our favorites for the 6 to 9 month period, of course starting with B's favorite:
1. Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle.  The board book is a perfect size for little hands.  Babies love Eric Carle's vivid, colorful pictures with distinctive lines.  The repetitive language and theme of looking for a missing pet is perfect for the infant set.

   2.  Touch and Feel Farm, by DK Publishing.  This simple touch and feel book is great fun for babies building their finger dexterity and interest in textures!  Since it is light on content, you can use it as a visual for singing "Old MacDonald's Farm."

3. Where's Spot? by Eric Hill.  This is a classic flap book, and infants and toddlers love finding Spot!  

4. Baby Shaker Teether Animals by Roger Priddy.  It's a book!  It's a toy!  It's a teether!  This was always in my diaper bag around this time and often in the car seat with B.  He loved looking at the photographs of animals, shaking it, and, of course, gnawing on it
5. Where is Baby's Belly Button? by Karen Katz.  Karen Katz is the author of many flap books that baby's love, and this is one of our favorites.  The flaps are fun when babies are younger, and the text is great for teaching an older infant/young toddler to point to parts of their own body.

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