Infants Books

Helen Oxenbury's illustrations make this book so appealing to toddlers and parents alike. The bright colors and playful style really draw you in. The author's use of repetition is also great, which my daughter enjoys. This is a long book and she can easily sit in my lap and focus on the entire story, allowing me to finish reading before she turns the pages. I agree with the other reviewer - the cousin fighting with the baby is kind of a negative aspect of the book, but often I will substitute other words on those pages. This is a must-have addition to any multicultural book collection!

I purchased this book for my 2 year old daughter to replace a paper back one I previously purchased that was destroyed by various infant beverages (hmmm...I wonder who did that).

Anyhoo...the book exceeded my expectations beyond my greatest imagination. My daughter and I already loved the book to pieces, but getting the hard covered one really has made it that much more of a favorite.

This story is a definite must have for any black parent or any parent attempting to raise a race-neutral child. The illustrations are big (which keeps my daughters attention), the story offers the repetition that children respond to (my daughter repeats many of the words with me), and helps parents teach about family members (mentions of cousin, daddy, mommy, aunt, nannie and gran-gran).

Enjoy this one with babies on up through the years.

P.S. Keep it out of reach of the kids if you want to keep it for years because it is sure to be a family favorite!

This book has been a family favorite for over 11 years. I first purchased this book for my son when he was 1 and am now reading it to my 2 year old daughter. My son still recalls the story, beautiful pictures but most of all family members and myself reading it to him time and time again. My daughter is now experiencing the same warm expressions of "family love" and beautiful pictures of an African American family celebrating a birthday but most of all being together. This book has become my daughter's favorite and she picks it up at least 4-5 times a day to be read. I've bought another copy just so she can have her own. My son has told me he wants to be keep his copy of the book so that he will be able to read this wonderful book to his own children.

This book is loved and enjoyed by my students (1st and 2nd grades)each and every year. The rhythm and repeat of Ms. Cooke's words captivate and charm. They are tickled with the antics of the family as they each arrive at the party. We have had great discussions about the choice of play and family differences each member brings to the party. Her message reminds each person listening that they too are loved "so much" by their family.

We have this book at our local child care centre. I love the rhythm of the language and I love the illustrations and my little boy does too. What I don't like is the "pow-pow", "I want to fight the baby" part. It's not an idea that I want to encourage at all - some good natured wrestling can be fun, of course, but it needs a lot of explanation. All of the carers naturally substitute other words to illustrate the story; usually I say that the boys want to tickle the baby. Parents and carers who want to promote a less violent world should be aware of this.

I have given this book to new Moms and experienced Moms and all have enjoyed the book.I read it and learned a few things after being the Mom of three and Grandmother of 10.

I recently sent this to two first-time mothers who found the book both interesting and useful. I've ordered extra copies as future gifts.

I bought this as a gift for a co-worker, but it looked so interesting I couldn't help leafing thru it. Lots of good information.

I always lamented the fact that babies don't come with operating instructions. I knew What to Expect When I was Expecting, but not after. With little baby experience, and even less baby BOY experience, when my babies were born I was forced to trust my instincts and absorbed advice from friends, hoping that I was somewhere in the ballpark of "doing it right". And now, here's exactly the book that would have helped.

The book is beautifully done and answers mysterious questions like WHY baby sucks her thumb, or bangs her head or plays with her poop. Each page of text is balanced by a photograph of a beautiful baby - some featuring acne, even, when we're wondering Why Babies Have Acne. This is a great book for parents of young babies - I've already given it as a baby shower gift to great reviews.

Full disclosure: I am a new parent. And, despite the volumes of information from books and advice from other parents, I have found the experience to be often baffling. (And I consider myself to be educated and reasonably intelligent.)

Perhaps it is the avalanche of information and advice under which I've been suffocating that makes this book so pleasant. The pictures are appropriate and cute (though none of these babies are as cute as my daughter) and the brief answers to questions like "why do some newborns open only one eye at a time, cross their eyes, or roll their eyes back" (all of which my daughter does) offer jolts of relief when needed.

OK, this book is no Dr. Spock or What to Expect in the First Year; still, it's a fun little book that I've found offers relief when your child really does seem a cipher.

Simply put, this is a very beautiful story. I think this would make a wonderful gift for anyone with a new baby, but especially for any couple who perhaps had a long journey to finally become parents (infertility or adoption). The last two pages of this story are especially heartwarming: 'We'd dreamed a baby, we'd wanted a baby, we'd planned for a baby, we'd waited and waited and waited for a baby, until finally, there was you.' Last page: 'And oh, how we love you!' I love this story for these two pages alone.

I cried the first time I read this book to my baby. After years of fertility issues, this book covered every emotion I felt after the birth of my first child. It would be a wonderful baby shower gift for any new mother and father.

This is a BEAUTIFUL book, the illustrations alone are worth the purchase!
The sweet story/love song is a wonderful story about how much we truly adore and celebrate our sweet babies birth, and lives.

I read it to my baby girl all the time, and I will continue to for years to come! You will love this book!

This book is perfect for anyone who had pregnancy problems. Very pretty pictures. Really good gift.

I bought this book when my oldest son was a newborn, and it has now become my trademark baby shower gift. It so simply explains the love parents have for their children and is illustrated beautifully. Four years of reading this book and I still choke up. This is a great bed time story to the kiddos when you've had a rough day! It reminds you how deep and pure the love is between parents and a child.

It is a family tradition to buy a copy of this book along with the CD, The Celtic Lullaby, for each friend, neighbor, or teacher who has a baby. We have loved this gentle, affirming book since we first read it 8-9 years ago. My sons, ages 9 and 11, have outgrown it, but still love to read it on occasion and reminisce. We consider it our favorite children's book.

The illustrations are just as beautiful as the rhyme. This is another classic that will be passed down over the generations from parent to child and grandchild!

This book is a classic. All of my grandchildren have loved it. It should be on your bookshelf next to Good Night Moon.

Wonderful gift for parents of a newborn (though even some children up to 5 or 6 years old will like to hear how much they are loved - but some this age will be put off by the baby-ish-ness of it). Simple pictures of a mom and baby hugging each other. Other pairs of objects hug, too - such as cloud moms and babies, etc. Lovely rhyme about how much a parent (pictures are of a woman) loves their child.

One cannot say enough about how wonderful
Remy Charlip's books are. This book would
make a wonderful "first book" for any child,
boy or girl, to have. They are filled with simple
yet warming verse and amazing pictures.
Enjoy!!!

Dr. Phelan has done a wonderful job at describing the right and wrong ways of approaching teenagers. I have recommended this book to my parents for many years. Too many times parents choose to discuss something on the spur of the moment, leading to blow ups and frustration on both parts. Dr. Phelan's recommendation to schedule a time and then also start with what is good, responsible, or mature with the teen before diving into the problem are on the money. This is exactly how they are trying to train business managers to work with their employees (although not all of them follow the advice). A collaboration to aid in the growth of the teen into a mature, responsible, relatively happy adult is needed. This book brings ideas and strategies to the reader to help reach that goal.

Surviving Your Adolescents: How to Manage and Let Go of your 13 - 18 Year Olds by Thomas W. Phelan, Ph.D, 2nd edition is a book I highly recommend for parents of any teenagers. Dr. Phelan is a registered Clinical Psychologist who has worked with children and families for over twenty-five years and he knows what works to help families run smoothly, even in the roughest of times. In the book he tells what is normal adolescent behavior, and risk-taking is normal! He gives terrific ways to keep good communication channels open with your teenager while still teaching and modeling the behavior you hope for yet understanding and discussing in ways that are not a big turn-off, the behaviors the teen exhibits in natural rebellion to rules. These are the years when peers are more important than parents, experimentation is normal in the quest for becoming one's own person, but the pitfalls are many, and the book recommends excellent ways of avoiding these or working through them and still keeping a good relationship. He discusses what is abnormal and needs professional help also. The book is easy to read with excellent, practical suggestions of ways that work. By all means ORDER THIS BOOK NOW!!

I wish I could have this book long time ago. If I had it, it would help me alot in understanding my daughter and I would avoid many mistakes. This book just opens your eyes and gives you the real picture of what is going on with your kid at the time of adolescent. I would say all parents need to read if before their kids become teenagers and be prepared for all changes and behaviour extreems.

If possible, this book is even more useful than "1, 2, 3 Magic", simply because adolescents are more trying to a parent than a toddler, if that can be imagined! I suggest giving this book to every parent on their child's 12th birthday. I have eight children and wish I'd read this book first.

"Surviving Your Adolescents--How to Manage and Let Go Of Your 13-18 Year Olds" is brilliant and simple. I whole-heartedly recommend it for any and every parent of teens. Dr. Phelan's advice is perfectly reasonable. There is a section called "Managing Testing and Manipulation" and great coaching on both understanding different perspectives and choosing what kind of role to take in various situations.

But parents beware, parenting teens will require you to grow and change! Dr. Phelan gives control back to parents all right, but it requires us parents controlling ourselves--old habits, maybe learned from our parents or born out of frustration. We are given a dose of reality about measuring what is really important (recognizing what is "minor but aggravating" and when outside intervention is necessary). In this book you will learn which very common behaviors we parents fall into that contribute to discord.

It's always good to know that you're not the only one going through the challenges of parenting teens and Dr. Phelan gives over his wisdom, advice, and experiences in a direct way with humor and compassion. If you are in need of some guidance in parenting your teens, get this book, read it (and don't forget to take some time to enjoy your teens).

Laya Saul, author of the best loved book for teens, "You Don't Have to Learn Everything the Hard Way--What I Wish Someone Had Told Me"

My 10 month old twins adore this book. I've had to read it multiple times a day for the past 5 months, and they enjoy looking through the pages on their own as well. The textures are great- my daughter will press her nose against all the different fabrics or try to lick them! She is also going through a stage where she chews on books, and this one is able to withstand her teeth and is still intact. I can't recommend it enough!

This is a great board book. It's a great read and talk about book. They learn textures and how things feel. It's beautifully illustrated, colorful and you don't have to worry about them ripping the pages. They will want to carry around with them all the time. Very cute. Great for special needs children also.

My daughter got this book at 7 months old, and she has loved it from the beginning. She loves to feel all the different textures, and now that she is 11 months old she loves to "read" it on her own. The book is durable and colorful, and I recommend it.

Our son is now 5 months old and this is his favorite book. He loves trying to grab the mouse on every page and knows where to feel on all the teddies. He likes books in general, but you can really see him tune in when we pull this one out - he loves it! We can't wait to try out the others in this series!

Also, as the other reviewers mentioned, a very sturdy book compared to other touchy-feelies. It has thick pages and a wide variety of durable textures.

Our twin babies are enjoying these "That's Not My..." books. These are more engaging than some of the other touchy-feely books we've got. Some books put materials in the pages for the babies to touch, just for the sake of having them there - and the words don't seem to "match up" with the thing we're feeling, or they are so stretched for material that it barely makes sense what we're feeling. Many of the "touchy-feely" books simply lack story content. That's not true of these Usborne touchy-feelies. The text is simple and makes sense to toddlers, and gives them a wider vocabulary of adjectives -- especially "tactile" words, like "fuzzy," "fluffy," "shiny," "hairy," and even (in "That's Not My Teddy"), "squashy!"

For bigger babies (my babies are just one year old), it's neat to notice a cute little mouse who shows up on every page. That's one thing I love about Usborne baby books - even when the babies are tired of looking at the main story, there's always the cute little mouse to notice and talk about!

I bought this book for my Godson and my sister. My sister was so touched by the book, she cried--she just loved it. The book explains the different symbols of baptism (water, the color white, etc.) and there are places for parents to document their child's baptism day. It's a very nice keepsake book for parents. I would buy it again.

Absolutely beyond my expectations...Written for the parents and the child. It will be a keepsake to pass on to future generations. Perfect way to help remember a very important event!!!

I bought this book for a baptism and found it to be very unique and quite adorable. There was a nice story in it, and also places for the family to write things about that special day. I would totally buy it again for another baptism.

Perfect gift for a baptism. Someone bought it for my daughter a few years ago and it is a favorite of mine. It explains the special day and has room in the back for writing about the day and for putting in special pictures. A great keepsake.

I liked this book because it was not specific to any religion and it had space inside for recording information about the event (who was there, special memories, etc). It was given to me as a gift and I have given it to others for their baptisms.

I'm recommending this book to all my clients. It provides a 'scientific' confirmation of parents' inner wisdom, and many people need that.
Trusting and knowing how to access our own best instincts (and sometimes that instinct is to seek help from a professional or other outside source) are solid and effecive parenting tools. I'm glad to have more confirmation that learning to express love and affection in all its many forms to our offspring is the essence of good parenting.
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I've found this book a great insight to many areas of human brain development and all its "issues".
This book should be read in conjunction with many other books which also look at psychology. I do not feel this book will answer questions standing on its own as you will get a one sided view - as in the author talks about her situations within her life. But in saying that MANY people will relate to what she is talking about and many people will find her scientific information very interesting.
I enjoyed this book and found that I was able to explain to many others who "poo poo" our parenting methods the reasons why...but you will always need more information so don't stop at just this wonderful book.

Everyone has seen a mother kiss her infant. Who would have thought such a simple gesture would be needed--very much needed.

Gerhardt explores all the recent scientific research on infant brain growth, and has come up with a book that's desperately needed.

Mothers who are angry, depressed, or cold, can alter the actual structure and growth of their child's expanding brain. "Early experience has a great impact on the baby's physiological systems, because they are so unformed and delicate...Even the growth of the brain itself...may not progress adequately if the baby doesn't have the right conditions to develop" (p 19).

There are some scary facts here. Mothers who do not adequately love and interact with their children create babies with a smaller than usual prefrontal cortex, babies likely to grow up to suffer from depression and social problems.

Another consequence of poor mothering can be narcissistic personality disorder (p 157).

One third of our children today are born illegitimate. How many of those poor mothers can cope, work jobs, and provide a truly loving and interactive home for their children?

An excellent source of information for everyone. Would be extremely helpful for mothers-to-be. Helps you understanding your developmental psychology. Gives you more information on you and why you turned out the way you did. Should be required reading for high school students who will be parents of the future. It would give them a better overview on how to interact with their children in a more positive way.

This book really opened my eyes to the fundamentals of brain development in infancy. I had no idea how much the actual physiology of the brain is affected by infant experience, not just the psychological. Sources are well cited, ideas are well backed up in scientific research, and the information is presented in a way which benefits lay readers as well as researchers (with an introduction about brain structure and development).

I suggest every parent-to-be get a hold of this book. One reviewer was dissapointed by the lack of specific exercises to play with. However, I don't think they are necessary because this book gives specifics about why certain strategies affect infants. I think understanding why certain types of parenting work better than others makes parents more likely to come up with the kind of adaptive spontaneous strategies which come out of such a way of thinking. You could also check out Brazelton for more specific info about exercises to do with your baby.

As a side note, once you read this book and make decisions about parenting based on the exhaustive research cited within, you will not only feel more confident about your parenting, but you will be able to defend against attacks from helpful but persistent grandparents, in-laws, and friends - should you want to engage in such discussions.

I loved this book. I cannot recommend it enough.

If you are considering buying it (either as a parent of a Preemie, someone who knows someone with a Preemie and wants to understand a little more, or someone who is just interested in a well written story of life and survival) then this is well worth your time. The book tells it how it is so don't expect a sugar coating but it is all the better for that.

One word of caution though - as the mother of an IUGR preemie I am glad that I did not hear about this book until after we were out of the hospital and had some sort of certainty. Essential reading now but may have been a little too raw back then.

I loved this book. It puts everything about life into perspective. I found myself checking my own life - am I doing the best I can as a father? Am I truly supportive of my family in the things that matter? Do I see the best in my children? This book challenged me to grow. I found too that I felt inspired after reading. It is an awesome source of hope for families.

I can say I'm the proud mother of a preemie - 22 wks, weighed 397 grams (14 ounces) and 11 1/2 inches long. He spent the first 5 months of life in the NICU. He (Zuri - Kiswahili for 'beauty') is doing well now. He's 2 1/2 yrs old and is a strong toddler. He has some minor developmental delays but otherwise he's here and healthy! Hang in there parents and read all these stories. You ARE not alone...you didn't BRING this on yourself and you WILL survive it!

Having an ex-preemie myself, I was so relieved to find the truths in this book, the ones the Hallmark Card Preemie Books don't say: what it's like to bring home a sick child, what it's like not to know his future, what it's like when the doctors turn out to be wrong or to have lied. Many many preemies end up like Alex with disabilities (mine did) and it's so important for their stories to be told. Right on, Jeff.

I am a grandparent of preemies, so I know that Jeff Stimpson's book is an honest and moving account of what it's like to watch a brave tiny baby go through medically necessary procedures that you can't bear to watch, and then what it's like to take a preemie home who is extremely fragile and on various medical equipment. Coming through an experience like the one related in "Alex: The Fathering of a Preemie" is something that changes your perception of the world forever, and makes you acutely aware of the fragility of life, and how poignant every day is that we have with our loved ones.

Great Baby book, thinking about getting one for my 2nd child as well. Truly had never considered it a puppy book, and not a human baby book. Who knew!

There's just something to be said for Wegman's puppy images being juztaposed with images of your own baby. This is my favorite baby book I've seen out there and I really shopped around. I didn't want a "traditional" baby book, but I did want to add in all of the usual information somewhere. Wegman's Baby Book let me do all of that, provided me with a super cute height ruler that I can use for longer than a year and all with pictures of shiny, silver weimeraners. So adorable. And, the cover is really soft as a bonus.

The best thing about this baby book are the ADORABLE photos of puppies in it. It also has pages for everything: family tree, lock of hair, growth chart, ultrasound photo, first birthday, etc. etc. I looked around for the perfect baby book and this one is it. I have bought 3 more copies since for friends who have had babies.
This is just the BEST baby book I've seen!

This is the cutest baby book I've seen. I hate the cheesy ones you see in the store. Perfect size for what I wanted.

I just bought this book as a gift for my cousin who is pregnant. It is absolutely adorable. If you like animals or are familiar with Wegman's work, it is just precious. I think it is a perfect gift for anyone expecting. There are the traditional baby book things--foot prints, family tree, firsts, etc. accompanied by terrific pictures. I would really recommend this to anyone--and the cover is this wonderfully soft velvet that makes it all the more lovable!