Your favorite children's books? Need suggestions for a "library" shower?

Question

Hi all,

I am almost 27 weeks pregnant with my first child. My husband's office is throwing him a surprise combined Going Away/"Man Baby Shower" next month. Instead of giving traditional gifts, they are going to give him books, CDs, and DVDs to build baby's "library." His boss's wife has asked for me to provide a list of prospective books. I want to list more than the common books (Very Hungry Catepillar, Seuss, Goodnight Moon, ect). So, what are your favorite children's books that you would recommend? Thanks!

Answer 1

Check this gift out:

http://www.babyshower.ecrater.com/produc...

It's super cute, has a book theme, but you also get a plush Mother Goose to keep all the soft baby books in, so it makes a great nursery decoration too! All the little characters (Humpty Dumpty, Cow that jumps over the moon) are soft, so they're great for the baby to wrap it's little fingers around!

Answer 2

"I Love You, Stinky Face" is my son's favorite.

Answer 3

The kissing hand was recommended to me by a friend. Also, there is Make Way for Ducklings, Courderoy, The Velveteen Rabbit, Sam, Bangs and Moonshine is a personal favorite of mine, Blueberries for Sal, I also really like the book God Gave us You..its really cute. Also there is a book called On the Night You Were Born, that is awesome and has beautiful illustrations. As far as practical books that baby will be able to explore and play with, sassy makes a great collection called Baby's First Books. My daughter loves them. Also board books are good too. Good luck! I think starting a book library is a wonderful idea!!

Answer 4

They loved Kissing hand for both genders. My boys loved Thomas trains and for girls princess books. Its good to have book that have those buttons where there sound. For babies and younger kids pages that don't rip.

Answer 5

Anything by Bill Peet. My kids loved when I read his books to them. Any of the Beatrix Potter books. Hmm. This is a good question. I'll have to do some research and get back to you.

Answer 6

I Love You Stinky Face, my kids love it. Little Critter and Berenstain Bears.

Answer 7

I absolutely love the book "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch.  It's great...the story of a mother's love for her son as he grows and then his love for her when she is aged and sick.  It's a beautiful story and can be read to a very young child.

Answer 8

This is the same theme that I had at my shower, it's also nice for your family/close friends to write a little something in each book for baby. Here are just a few of the books that my daughter LOVES - she can recite most by heart...

Silly Sally by Audrey Wood

I Know a Rhino by Charles Fuge

Someday by Alison McGee

Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton

Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton

My Daddy Snores by Nancy Rothstein

My Many Colored Days by Dr Seuss

I Love You Through & Through by Bernadette Rossetti Shustak

What Shall We Do With the Boo Hoo Baby by Cressida Cowell & Ingrid Godon

Answer 9

You have some really good suggestions and many of hte ones I was going to suggest a few more that i know my son (3) and my daycare charges enjoy are:

-The Little Critter series by Mercer Mayer

-Berenstein Bears series by Stan and Jan Berenstein

-Are you my Mother by PD Eastman

-Olivia Series by Ian Falconer

-My First Canadian series (board books in topics such as 123 colors shapes abc) by Scholastic

-Happy Baby Series (board books topics such as things that go, animals by priddy books)

-Baby Books by Karen Katz

-The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

-Bugs Bunny Calling by Cindy West

-Carry Along Books (board books each about a baby animal such as monkey, lion, elephant and the same charachters follow through the series by Paradise Press and written by Heather Henning)

-The original collections of Winnie the Pooh and When We Were Young  by E.E Milne (beautiful book , none of this disney garbage, big and heavy though!)

-The railway series by Rev  WV Awdry (this IS the Thomas the Tank series)

Answer 10

You have a lot of great suggestions, but I didn't see any Thomas the tank engine books on anyone's list. My son adores those books. Also, as a baby shower gift I got personalized name books from iseeme.com. They are full of pictures and include their first, middle, and last name. Take a look at the website if you're interested. Some other good books might be:

Any Golden books (http://www.randomhouse.com/golden/board_...

Any potty training books (http://babyparenting.about.com/od/pottyt...

Are You My Mother?

The Little Engine That Could

Where the Wild Things Are

On the Night You Were Born

Guess How Much I Love You

Big Little by Leslie Patricelli

Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli

Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton

Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton

Any books with cartoon characters (Dora, Diego, Little Einsteins, Disney characters, Mickey Mouse, etc)

Any books that include learning about shapes, animals, colors, etc.

Answer 11

What a great idea! You've got the basics in Goodnight Moon, Caterpillar, Seuss, etc. Here are a few others that, as a teacher, I highly recommend.

The Velveteen Rabbit

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

The Giving Tree

The Runaway Bunny

The Snowy Day

Guess How Much I Love You?

Corduroy

Love You Forever

Any book from the If You Give A Mouse series

The Polar Express

Stellaluna

Where the Wild Things Are

Any book by Jan Brett

The Little Engine that Could

Are You My Mother?

The Poky Little Puppy

Pat the Bunny

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Answer 12

"Love You Forever" by Robert M. Munsch is my favorite children's book.  "Guess How Much I Love You" was a really cute one too!!!

Answer 13

Guess How Much I Love You

The Night You Were Born

Time to Say Goodnight

Where the Wild Things Are

The Cat in the Hat

Harry the Dirty Dog treasury

Peter Rabbit (we have the regular and pop up versions, my son loves them) or anything Beatrix Potter

To Think that I Saw it On Mulberry Street

If you Give A Mouse a Cookie

It Looked like Spilt Milk

Goodnight Moon

the Runaway Bunny

the Very Hungry Caterpillar

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do You See

Are you My Mother?

Dr. Suess' "Colors" book

Answer 14

Baby Genius books,here is the website that you can visit and you can books,DVDS,Music,Toys www.babygenius.com , some of  titles of these books are:Colors,Baby Animals,Favorite-Sing-Along,Shapes,Alaph... Advetures,No more Monkeys, these books  are 6"x6" in size,I used to work at a Taco Bell and they had happy meals, and toys for under 3 (which was my books I'm speaking of)I would give these away to any small child with an adult; I also made up a library os sorts for my grandson he was 2 yrs. old at the time, I got every book we had at the time, until I was layed off work health reasons, but I gave them to him for Christmas and there were at 12, I'm sure there's that could be added to these but I am no longer working; and Children's Bible stories,I also would get all of Walt Disney's DVDS (or would try), they teach a child so much,and I would get all the Berstein BearsDVDS & books, they teach too.CONGRATULATIONS!! From me early, and I thank God for the gift He has bestowed on you.May God Bless You,your husband, and your child!Sesame Street books are good also.I am a grandmother of 5 boys!

Answer 15

Play Time Peekaboo, my son loves turning the pages and seeing whats undernieth the "hidding spots" he makes me read it all the time and always before bed