Board Book Love

I have been trained, and trained well, to love books.  My mom has recently let us in on a little secret-that as kids, if we asked her for a new book, she would always say yes.  Obviously, this being a well kept secret of our childhood, we never caught on.  My parents would read to us every single night before bed until we were old enough to do it on our own.  My mom read from a book and my dad preferred to make up great stories for us.  I still try to read at least a couple pages at bedtime before my eyelids slam shut.  Anyways, we are trying to instill a love of books in the Princess, and I think she's catching on pretty early!  

In the past couple days, she has started "helping" us turn the pages!  She does it on each page and she is quick to relinquish control when she can't flip the page all the way over.  I'm sure it's normal baby behavior, but I am still quite impressed.

Anyway, here are some of our favorite board books so far:

From the top left:

1.  Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by: Eileen Christelow - It's the classic warning tale of what happens when little monkeys jump on their bed...with a surprise ending.  

2.  Down by the Bay by: Nadine Bernard Westcott - It should be no secret that the King and I love books that are based on ridiculous songs.  I fear the day when the Princess no longer wants to hear me sing.

3.  Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by: Judi Barret - A humorous tale of why it would be ridiculous if animals wore clothes.  

4.  Hippos Go Berserk by: Sandra Boynton - A counting book where hippos get together and throw a crazy party.  We got 2 copies as shower gifts.  Must be a classic.

5.  Moo, Baa, La La La by: Sandra Boynton - This book is trying to pull a fast one on your kid.  They pair a couple animal sounds with the correct animal and then throw in a ridiculous one at the end to make sure your kid (or sleep deprived parent) is paying attention.

6.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar by:  Eric Carle - The classic tale of a (very) hungry caterpillar who turns into a beautiful butterfly at the end (sorry, if I gave it away!).

7.  Bear Snores On by:  Karma Wilson- Bear is hibernating during a cold winter storm.  A few of his creature friends come into his cave to stay warm...but the bear snores on...or does he?  I can't give the ending of this one away too.

8.  Baby Beluga by:  Raffi- Another great book based on a song!  The Princess enjoys hearing about the frolicking whale before she heads off to dreamland.  Or maybe she is trying to escape her mother's horrendous singing?

9.  We're Going on a Bear Hunt by:  Helen Oxenbury - a family goes in search of a bear and encounter many obstacles along the way.

I used to have to skim countless Amazon reviews for the perfect board book to toss on top of a baby shower or 1st birthday gift.  Since I now have a list of go-to favorites, I thought I'd share.  Sure to be well received!