avy's faves: board books | march 2016.

I knew my soon-to-be-one-year-old daughter was pretty advanced, but I didn't expect her to be writing her first blog post before her first birthday. Well, technically, I guess I wrote the post on her behalf. But we won't quibble over technicalities. She certainly chose the content with her careful and discerning taste in books. Avy can be pretty picky and critical when it comes to the quality of her reading material.

Without further ado, please enjoy her selections:

The Jungle Book: An Animals Primer (BabyLit series) by Jennifer Adams & Alison Oliver

This is Avery's all-time favorite book. I'm not sure why this one specifically enchants her so much, but it does. She loves it and gets excited every time I read it to her. We usually gloss over the quotes on each page from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book in favor of a simpler reading: I read the name of each animal, say what type of animal it is, and make that animal's sound to the best of my ability--what the heck do porcupines sound like? Jackals? Peacocks? Anyway. She always looks at me expectantly, waiting for each animal's sound. It's adorbs.

Baby Beluga by Raffi & Ashley Wolff

Mike and I read-sing Baby Beluga to Avery every night at bedtime as part of her nightly routine. It's part of her bedtime wind-down. So, this beautifully-illustrated board book is a definite fixture in her little life! Sometimes she really enjoys it, and sometimes I think perhaps she gets a little annoyed by it if she's wanting to resist bedtime, which it's a pretty clear signal of. But mostly she loves it.

Tickle by Leslie Patricelli

Avery loves the Leslie Patricelli board books I've checked out from my library. Tickle is an especially cute one, and Toot is another one she really likes! The pictures are just simple enough while vibrant and eye-catching. The text is brief enough but maintains a great sense of humor baby and grown-ups can appreciate. And the baby starring in these books is totally gender-neutral, too, which is cool.

Dr. Seuss's ABC by Dr. Seuss

Who can resist a silly, sing-song Dr. Seuss book? This one is a classic, and it seems to hold Avery's attention well with the rhythmic, rhyming text. I mean, what's better than a Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz, or Itchy-Itchy-Ichabod?

First 100 Animals by Helen Parker

This book is just one example of the host of similar books Avy loves--board books featuring bright, clear photos of real-life animals, people, and objects. She especially loves looking at farm animals and babies/toddlers. She also loves staring at family photos in our house and my mom's house; I really need to make her a photo album / book with photos of all her family members to look at. I really think she'd love that.


Well, that's it for this first edition of book reviews on Avery's behalf. I have to say, the girl has good taste! I'll share again soon when I have another good batch of Avy's faves. :)