Books to Chew On

Board books are the ideal format for toddlers, and certainly they are safe for newborns, too. But even better for babies are cloth books. Their soft pages can be balled up in tiny fists, and drooled over, then thrown in the washing machine. Add to that some sound effects, like the crackling sound of the pages in Crinkle Animals: Farm, and nearly all of your baby’s senses will be engaged.

Studies have shown that with newborns, one of the key elements to capture babies’ attention is contrasting images such as black and white. All of the animals in Farm feature black-and-white elements, with the bold black outline and white feathers or fur—except for the pig finale, in a blush of pink (and a kiss mark on its cheek). There are no words in the book, allowing you to improvise with your baby to see what he or she responds to—animal sounds, animal names, perhaps a game of hide-and-seek with the page turn (Where did the cow go? There it is!). It’s soft enough to go in the crib or stroller, and the crunchy sound will help baby find it if it winds up beneath a leg or belly.

Pillowy Pages

For us grown-up book lovers, nothing gladdens our hearts more than to see a baby cuddle up with a book—literally. We've all seen babies take to a book so strongly that they carry it around wherever they go, sit on it in their car seats, stow it on their high chair trays and fall asleep on it in their cribs. That’s one of the reasons I was delighted to discover the Fuzzy Bee and Squishy Turtle Pack by Roger Priddy. Not only can a baby snuggle up with Fuzzy Bee and Friends—and use its crackly pages as a pillow—but the bold stripes and contrasting colors captivate youngest eyes that can’t quite pick up details yet. Plenty of books for babies present the facts, but both Fuzzy Bee and Squishy Turtle deliver information with a touch of humor, too.

Here’s an idea: Maybe publishers could create cloth books for us grown-ups, too. One of my most moving memories of my grandmother, as she began to lose her short-term memory, was when she took me to her room because she wanted to show me something. She had carefully made her bed, and it was littered with hardcover books. She told me, “I want all my books with me.” There was just a narrow space in the center of the bed where her long, lean body could fit. I don’t know how she slept with all those books dominating her sleeping space. Now, if she could have created a makeshift bumper pad of cloth-covered books, think how well she might have slept!

Wouldn’t it be nice to be surrounded by our favorite books, softly bound in quilted covers? Imagine how sweet our dreams would be. Babies have that luxury, so let’s indulge them!