The 7th Month Old's Reading List

Something important to Jason and I when it comes to raising our daughter is that she become a good reader and enjoys reading as she grows.  So as soon as she got old enough to notice and enjoy it, we started reading to her.  Probably around 4 or 5 months of age.  I have an entire bookshelf full of books, but I have chosen those with big, bright pictures and just a few words on each page so that it holds her attention.  She has some favorites and I have some favorites, and although the list is short right now, it is rapidly growing as her attention span increases and I pull more books off her bookshelf.

1.  We will start with her favorite:  Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin and Eric Carle. She absolutely adores this book with the big animal picture right across the center the sing-song rhythm of the words.  I have this one memorized and when we were on our long trip, I read it several times in a row and she remained riveted.  It also works well in church when she gets antsy. 

2.  Her second favorite is Baby's First Colors.  She remains riveted during this one too as I say the color and then say the picture used to represent each color.  For example:  "Red.  Red car.  Red apple."

3. Now for my favorite.  I Am a Bunny by Ole Risom and Richard Scarry.  A sweet, seasonal story with gorgeous pictures!  I absolutely love this one and Eloise likes it too.

4.  The Going to Bed Book, Let's Dance Little Pookie, Moo Baa, La La La - all by Sandra Boynton.  Oh my word.  She is hilarious!  While these books do not have one big, bright picture across the page, the pictures are simple enough that Eloise stays interested in the sing-song verses on each page.  And they are a joy to read too because they are so funny!  I also have Pajama Time and The Belly Button Book, but I have not read those to Eloise yet.

5.  What Do You Love? by Jonathan London and Karen Lee Schmidt.  A very sweet and fun story about a mama dog and her pup and all the fun things they love to do.  A simple read with great illustrations.

7.  Another good book about colors is Strawberries are Red by Petr Horacek.  This one is short and simple as it describes the colors of fruit, but Eloise stays riveted to it the whole time.

 8.  And finally, two books that I've recently added to the mix, Mommy Hugs and Daddy Kisses by Anne Gutman and George Hallensleben.

For now this is our daily reading list.  I have a ton of great books to add to it, just waiting on the shelf and even though we have plenty, I have a feeling she will get one about yellow ducks (a favorite animal of hers) in her Easter Basket and another Brown Bear type book before that!  Happy Reading!