Around this time of year lots of people start asking about books that make good Christmas presents. And of course, all the books that we ...

BookBairn's Christmas Gift Guide - Babies

Wednesday, November 22, 2017 BookBairn 11 Comments


Around this time of year lots of people start asking about books that make good Christmas presents. And of course, all the books that we share on the blog would make good Christmas gifts because we only share books we actual read and love (that's our quality-guarantee right there). But I thought I would try to give you a few starting ideas in a couple of posts (depending on age range). It was quite difficult to narrow it down so I've tried to choose five from each age-range that I think will appeal to a variety of different readers and I've tried to choose slightly lesser-known titles so that you don't risk giving a duplicate (this is probably the reason so few people risk buying BookBairn books!). I've also avoided any Christmas titles as I tend not to give these as gifts myself as they have a short shelf-life until the following year. I hope you see something you like!

Really Decent Handy Books - Philip Dauncey & Stephen Barker


We had a set of these really decent handy books for BookBairn and they were amongst the first books she ever really played with (you can read a very old review of them here). The original series we had for BookBairn went missing along with a whole bag of new baby toys and books during a manic nesting and clear out phase just before The Wee Page Turner was born. Fortunately I had this collection stashed away from last year's Christmas sales and I'll be wrapping it up for The Wee Page Turner. Whilst I've not opened these yet I'm sure they are brilliant as the previous books were some of the best we ever had. This series is perfect for encouraging young children to play with books and read by themselves. The cut-out handle is perfect for grabbing and the way the books open out flat make them easy to hold and see the full illustration across the pages. Bright and colourful they are perfect first books for babies to explore! 
(I don't normally show preference to any particular retailer but just to note these books were a lot cheaper on the Book People than they were on Amazon.)

Little Feminist Box Set - Emily Kleinman & Lydia Ortiz


This is a great little box set for those looking to raise mighty girls or brilliant boys who have respect for mighty girls! This little board book set features colourful illustrated portraits of real women who have made a historical impact on the world. They are a great way to introduce little ones to these important people in history with illustrations that are fun and bright but also representative of their real life counterparts. These are mini board books so are great for the littlest readers and The Wee Page Turner enjoys playing with these ones since he has been able to sit up! As the box states: "Here's to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them." A great gift for girls and boys!

Animals - Britta Teckentrup


When you're giving a gift you want might want it to be beautifully stylish as well as great fun for little ones, and this new series of books for babies by the incredibly talented artist, Britta Teckentrup, ticks all the boxes. Packed full of high contrast colours and different animals this will really appeal to the littlest reader in a home. Perfect for stimulating discussion, you can chat about the pictures, which is so valuable to little ears. Babies will love the pop of colour and uncluttered design as well as the smaller size that are perfect for little hands to grasp. The whole series would make a lovely Christmas gift. (Our full review of the series is on the blog here.)

Blocks - Irene Dickson


Telling the story of two children learning to share this book is great for siblings! Featuring primarily red and blue colours against a plain white background this book is great for engaging little readers with the key elements of the story. BookBairn loves this as much as her little brother so it's appeal goes further than just babies. It has a great little cliffhanger that BookBairn is just beginning to understand and she gives me a cheeky grin at the end every time. My only reservation about recommending this one is that it's a slightly oversized board book so it is very heavy which means that it isn't great for babies to read by themselves. However, that just means babies need their parents to cuddle up with them to share this adorable story! Or maybe even bigger siblings? This would be perfect for an older sibling to give to a younger one!

Baby's First Playbook: Peepo - Jo Lodge


One of our favourite author/illustrator/paper engineers is the incredible Jo Lodge and this book is such a brilliant example of her work! Not really a story book, more a first word and exploration book, the characters are incredibly appealing with their cute and funny expressions and clear lines complimented by bold colours, which are perfectly designed to engage little ones as their eyesight develops. The thick and sturdy tabs reveals illustrations of babies in Jo's distinctive style that appeals to little readers that are set in frames of high contrast patterns and shapes. And just to top it off, there's a mirror on the final page that babies can spend hours exploring and adoring their own little faces. It really is a magic book for babies and will keep them busy for hours. (BookBairn enjoyed the first in the series long beyond babyhood, you can read our review of it here!)


I hope you have found something appealing in this little bundle for babies. Please keep a look-out for my next list of recommendations for toddlers which should be up later this week. 

And if you want any specific recommendations please feel free to get in touch! All our social media links are in the header at the top of the blog - or you can just search 'bookbairn' to find us!

Happy Christmas Shopping,
Mummy and the elves xx


Disclaimer: these are all my choices. Some were sent from publishers but they were not sent in connection with this post. Their inclusion here is my choice. Because I really do think they are great.

 

11 comments:

  1. What a great collection of books. All worthy of being Christmas presents which have been well tested by the “mighty” BookBairn and the “brilliant” Wee Page Turner.

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  2. That little feminist box set is adorable. Some wonderful gift ideas! Thank you for sharing with #readwithme

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    1. It's so cute! Your girls are too big for it now but maybe they would like the jigsaw that comes out next year!

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  3. Books make great Christmas presents but it can be difficult to ensure no duplicates. I'm not familiar with any of these but they all look great. #kltr

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    1. That's great if you haven't heard of them I must have done a good job selecting them!

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  4. Great choices as always :) Love Britta Teckentrup's illustrations #readwithme #kltr

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  5. So many awesome books to choose from!! It's so hard to not just buy them all!

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  6. Totally love the look of the little feminist box set! This is a great list as there are some books I haven't heard of on here (other than Peepo). Thanks for linking up to #KLTR

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    1. That was my hope - a little less popular but truly wonderful!

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