Baby-led Reading!

So BookBairn is on the move! For the last few months she has been wriggling about on her tummy and 'commando crawling' all over the house. Put her in her baby walker and she can fly around the house at top speed. And give her your hand and she will toddle around from room to room. But when she heads for that pile of toys in the living room, it's the stack of books that she's after! Sometimes it's hard to tell which one she's after until they are all scattered about her. I guess you could call it 'baby-led reading'?!!

Top of her reading list at the moment are two lift-the-flap books by Gareth Lucas: 'Peekaboo 123' and 'Peekaboo A to Z'. Two large and sturdy books with flaps that small hands can flip with ease, illustrations that are utterly adorable and silliness that will appeal to grown-ups and little ones alike: what's not to like?

BookBairn particularly likes 'Peekaboo A to Z' and has mastered most of the flaps in the book with ease. This alphabet book has an animal for every letter of the alphabet and each is pictured on top of the flap embracing their letter whilst underneath they can be seen in the strangest of circumstances, such as a bear balancing on a bean or a rabbit racing on roller skates or a lion licking a lollipop. Throughout the book, several of the pages feature a rather attention-seeking zebra who proclaims that "they saved the best for last" but there is a little twist by the time you get to the letter z and zebra has moment in the spotlight! As you can see the text is alliterative which will extend the appeal of this book beyond little ones who have already mastered their initial sounds. The short sentences and corresponding illustrations mean that these books will also be great for early readers. BookBairn favours the pages with Hippo, Iguana and Jaguar and Quail, Rabbit and Snake! I'm not sure why she loves these so much but they are the pages I catch her reading most often!

'Peekaboo 123' is a hilarious counting tale of animals racing to the finish along the beach. You will encounter snakes and pandas and hamsters and turtles and gorillas and animals galore! Each flap has the numeral and number word written clearly without too much fuss, meaning that all the fun lies beneath the flap (also meaning that learning numerals and number words is easily accesible). Under each flap are animals on a mode of transport trying to race to the finish first. Similarily to Peekaboo A to Z, the short sentences on the underside of the flap are written in alliteration and feature crazy antics such as cows in a canoe, hippos in a hot air balloon and pandas on a pirate ship. For little ones you can count all the animals in the picture and guess who might come next and what they might be driving/sailing/flying. I love that the modes of transport get progressively speedier as you count up the numbers: another great point for discussion with older children. This book also features zebra on several of the pages who provides the race commentary throughout! This book also features a brilliant final page that will have you laughing out loud!

The illustrations in both books are absolutely charming and the animals created are adorable. There is often a lot going on in each scene which keep wee ones busy and engaged beyond simply flipping open the flap, closing it and turning the page. The attention to detail is brilliant and you will have great fun discussing the animals crazy antics!

These books are truly wonderful! I love that the flaps are layered on top of the pages, rather than cut outs, and are 'oversized' meaning that little BookBairn's hands can manipulate them easily! It is wonderful that these books will appeal to children of many ages from ones as little as BookBairn, who love to lift the flaps, to pre-school age children who are learning to count and recognise letters, to older children who are beginning to read and understand literary devices such as alliteration. Brilliant books for all the family to enjoy!

And worth learning to crawl for!

Love Mummy and BookBairn xx