Begin Smart Series

I don't always write about specific series for kiddos books, but this series of books has really grown on me.  They offer books for all age ranges of little ones.  This is awesome for anyone {including a former Reading Specialist!}  Sometimes I am not exactly sure what James should be expected to know/do since I was not an early childhood person....

When James was little we had quite a few of the black and white ones for birth-six month olds.  Those were really some of his favorites!  At the library recently I found the book pictured above {along with 2 others in the series}, and after reading these I can say I think they are great!  I loved all of the fruits and vegetables in the book.  The pictures were great and really gave us a lot to talk about.

Talking about the pictures and not just reading the words in books can be really helpful for little ones.  It can really help improve their vocabulary.  Sometimes I just want to read what it written, but in these sorts of books you just feel like you should do a little more talking.  Exactly what James' speech therapist wants us to do!

If you run across these book, I highly recommend them!

Lift the Flap Books

Lately James loves lift the flap sort of books. This makes perfect sense for an active little man. We like to look at the pictures and lift up all of the different flaps. Here are two of his current favorites.

1.

This is a really fun one that I think will last us a long time because it teaches numbers, colors,etc. We are not quite at that stage yet, but I always talk with him about the color, animals, and numbers. I found this one at Target.

2.I bought this one a few months ago thinking that he was not quite ready for it because it is actually a slide and find. I thought that the slides seemed a little hard for him. James has recently fallen in LOVE with cars so this one is perfect for him! We are working hard to help him realize that truck are trucks not cars... ha!

Fish Kisses

When I saw this at Target while pregnant with James, I had images of us reading this each night and getting to give each other fish kisses before bedtime.

This is a super fun book. It is all about different ways that animals show each other love. At the end it reviews all of the ways and tells the reader to pick the one you want to do.

This is a super quick read {also known as, good for super tired nights;)}

I am sure that you will be happy to know that we are no longer just reading the book, but my little dream is coming true: James picks out one for us to do at the end. I am not really sure how much he is really picking, but I can pretend.

I would advise you to pick this one up on your next visit to Target.

Summer Read for a 14 month old

This is a new one that James loves because he can lift the flaps. Each page has an side that flips up to reveal more items that are all the different colors. This is a fun one because James loves lift-the-flap books, but it not really in a gentle stage quite yet. He can easily lift these flaps without Mommy worrying about him tearing up the book.

James' Favorites at 1

James LOVES to read! Lately I catch him over at the bookshelf, turning the pages of books and reading them to himself. I even watched him "read" Shake It Up, Baby last week. He would "read" the page, then shake the book {the spine is a rattle}, then turn the page. Just like Mama reads it. I was just in awe of my little munchkin! He still loves the Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Karen Katz, and That's Not My Monster, but I would like to share 2 new ones that he enjoys.

1.

I got this one from Target because I thought that it would be fun for him to have a "boy" sorta book. I learned about diggers and tractors. It was pretty fun for this mama. He does love it. There is a touch and feel element to the book which he of course adores.

2.

Awhile back I got this one for when James was older, so we could play point and find games with it. We are not quite at that point, but he does enjoy looking at the pictures. His favorite of course is the pet pages: cat, dog, puppy, and kitten are his absolute favorites! Shocker, I know!