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good books for bigs and littles

Looking for a good book for a new baby? Read on…

The Classics

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown are simply classics. Fifty years or more after they were first written, children still find these books interesting and entertaining. Much has been written about both The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Goodnight Moon by book reviewers more esteemed than myself, but here’s a few things that I think make these books stand out.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Just like a child, he is always changing
Just like a child, he sometimes makes poor food choices
He makes holes in his food that are the perfect size for tiny fingers
He learns days of the week and counting, just like a child
He turns into something amazing in the end

Goodnight Moon

Everyone has to go to bed at night and…
Sometimes it is scary and sad, but…
All the things in your room keep you company, especially…
the Moon

The Tearjerker

The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin is the perfect book for all parents, but particularly hopeful, hip parents who don’t know that their days until elastic waistbands and beer bellies are closer than they can presently dream. And as for dreaming…hahahaha…good luck.

But first, let’s talk about how incredibly sweet this book is. All The Wonderful Thing You Will Be is an ode to the miraculous potential in a new and beloved baby. It so perfectly captures new parents’ adoration of their baby and the awe we experience in the face of their as yet unwritten potential..

It’s a visually idyllic book too, colorful and cute but arty and offbeat too. (Martin has more adult-oriented artwork on her Website.) So while we still dream of children who never shout “I don’t love you!” or smack you in the face when you try to take away their cookie, let’s also imagine that we all still look great in our skinny jeans and our beards are always perfectly trimmed. Cause that’s what it’s like raising babies, right?

Best Comedy

I’ve already written about King Baby by Kate Beaton here, but it’s worth mentioning again, because it’s a great book for new parents and also for a family with a toddler expecting a new baby. Like most things, this book is funny because it’s so true.

The Gold

Me With You by Kristy Dempsey and Christopher Denise is, hands down, my favorite book to read to a baby. Why? Because I read it to my babies. It’s a short, rhyming board book about a big bear and a little bear who are close in the way parents and kids are close. Sometimes they have fun together, sometimes they fight, and sometimes they spend time apart. But they always, always love each other. I’ve passed on lots of my kids’ books to friends with new babies, but this one stays with in the keepsake box.

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Best Books for New Babies