Today's wonderful article is written by Featured Writer Leslie Branch

Reading books to you child is a great way to emotionally connect and spend some time with your child while teaching them and aiding them in their development. There are many great books to choose from that will be sure to keep your child captivated. Look for books that are made of interesting materials that your child can touch and comfortably handle, such a cloth, soft padding, or vinyl. Books with rhymes are also quite suitable, as they are more apt to keep your child entertained and engaged. Here are some suggestions for great books to read to babies and toddlers:

“My Very First Mother Goose” – “My Very First Mother Goose” has many of the classic nursery rhymes, such as "Hey Diddle, Diddle," "Pussycat, Pussycat," and "Jack and Jill." Nursery rhymes are great for babies and toddlers, because even though they may not understand all of the words, they can still enjoy the tonal and lyrical quality of the rhymes. “My Very First Mother Goose” has humorous illustrations that compliment the nursery rhymes quite well.

“Baby Faces” – “Baby Faces” contains bright color photographs showing babies expressing different emotions. Research has shown the babies enjoy looking at images of other babies. This book is great in that you can teach your children different emotions as you point to different images in book. “Baby Faces” is made of soft padding, which makes it easy for babies and toddlers to handle.
“Goodnight Moon” – In “Goodnight Moon,” a cute little bunny says good night to many different things within eyesight, including a brightly lit moon. The bunny says "Goodnight room, Goodnight moon" and goes one by one to items in his room, and says goodbye to such things as socks, a chair, and kittens. The words are very calming and poetic in nature. It is the perfect book to read to your child before bedtime as they fall off to sleep.

“I See a Cow” – “I See a Cow” is a board book with brightly colored illustrations of animals and other objects, such as toys. This is a fun and educational book for babies in that they can learn the names for different objects in the book. The book has a nice tactile element as well, as there are different textures throughout the book that babies can touch with a high degree of fascination.
“The Very Busy Spider” – “The Very Busy Spider” is another fun and interesting board book. It follows the perspective of farm animals as they watch a spider spin its web. “The Very Busy Spider” has an unique college style of illustration that coincides with the rhythmic text. It also has raised spider web that is great for babies and toddlers to touch.