We all know the benefits of reading to our babbling bubs and since Baby Lauren enjoys bedtime reading very much, I just thought I’d write a baby board book review!

Baby Board Book Review

Some background: I started reading to her when she was 10 months old, pretty late by strict momzilla standards, but there’s really no best-by date for reading to your baby and anytime is the best time, if you ask me. It all starts off rough, be prepared for that since the most exciting book has like, flaps. Yea, how fun, flaps! The animation really has to come from the narrator and that’s right, it’s you!

What helped was a very quiet routine where it’s just Baby Lauren and myself, having her on my lap and me devoting an exclusive 1 hour every night, just reading to her. No distractions, no phones, no emails, no music whatsoever. Just Baby Lauren and I. It’s not about the book in the beginning, it’s about mummy spending time with baby and the cuddling and attention baby gets. Don’t bother about having baby look at the book the first few times. Your baby will eventually recognize the books and let you know which books she likes!

If you’re trying to start a reading habit for your baby, remember it’s about spending time with your baby, not getting your baby to regurgitate ABCs! At least not in the initial stages, the regurgitation should come quickly enough, so don’t worry. If you’re into that sort of thing, although you really shouldn’t be. Tsk.

We currently read 13 books every night, so I can’t speak for other baby board books we’ve not read. I’m waiting for another 6 books to arrive and I would probably review those in time. But for now, I’d just review those 13 we have, and I’ve indicated the level of difficulty so you know which books to start with and advance towards. I also state my personal recommendations, so here we go, baby board book review!

1) I Love You Through And Through – Basic

This was Baby Lauren’s first favourite book. Why do I say so? It was the very first book she actually paid attention to and subsequently interacted with, pointing at the book and even touching her own ears! That was the first indication she actually remembers the contents of the book, was able to recall the gestures I made while reading and repeat what I do! And trust me, you’d never forget the first time your baby does that! It’s a lovely book, very easy for first time reading. I love books that allow me to tell Baby Lauren how much I love her and this book does just that. Will I recommend this book? Yes!

2) Moo, Baa, La La La! – Basic

This is quite a nonsensical book but I mean seriously, are we expecting Shakespeare material in a baby board book?! This was the second book that Baby Lauren favourited. I guess she really liked the animal sounds and today, she actually gestures “no-no” with her index finger because I do that when I’m reading this book to her. It’s hilarious and whenever I say no-no to her now, she does that! So yea, don’t underestimate their level of understanding, they not only understand, they can even apply it in everyday life! This book helps them remember the various animal sounds and is pretty good as a starter board book. Will I recommend this book? Probably yes since it WAS her second favourite book.

3) The Going To Bed Book – Basic

This book was written by the same author as the previous book so yea, expect the same kind of ridiculous plot. I do prefer this book though, because at least it rhymes! I will tap my fingernails on pages where the characters go up and down, that really caught Baby Lauren’s attention and was the third book she managed to sit through. In fact, at one point, she actually liked this book the most because it’d be the first book she’d reach out for whenever we started our bedtime reading ritual. Today, she is able to preempt the story by touching her own pajamas and even doing a rocking action at the end of the book! It really helps to do silly actions when reading to your baby because they will remember, link the action to the words and repeat the deed! I find it really cute as her level of understanding deepens. After going through the various baby board books, I noticed how Baby Lauren preferred books that rhymed, of course until the books with flaps came along. Flaps rule. Will I recommend this book? Yes, even though it’s ridiculous, at least it rhymes well.

4) Dear Zoo – Basic/Intermediate

Yes and this is the champion of all flap books. I think. Baby Lauren didn’t like this book initially and I suppose it’s because she didn’t quite understand the whole animal concept at 10 months. I stowed it away and only took it out 2 months later. By then, we were reading 5 books every night and I could tell she was getting restless so I decided to give this a try again. It was an instant hit with her and even after reading it every night for the past 2 months, it’s still her favourite book. Now, it’s her first book every night and I have to read it to her at least twice. She gets really agitated when I say, ‘The end.’ She loves opening the flaps and the animal sounds I make. Will I recommend this book? Definitely yes, yes YES!

5) Baby’s First Book of Prayers – Intermediate

Oops. This is not a board book but a mini-book, think size of your palm. This book is a huge collection of 4-liner, rhyming prayers on almost any topic written just for a baby. As Baby Lauren matured in her books selection, this is now one of her favourite books. I guess she is a ‘listening’ learner, so she really enjoys the rhymes. I absolutely love reading this book to her because it’s so meaningful and it’s really great she actually enjoys it too! She can literally sit through all the rhymes, that’s if I have the energy to go through all of them, which I usually don’t. Tsk. Will I recommend this book? Yes, if you wish to bless your baby with God’s word!

6) Dr Seuss ABC Book – Intermediate

After reading the simple books, Baby Lauren seems to have taken a liking to more advanced books. She likes this book but I kind of dread reading this book. It’s very elaborate and to a certain extent, intense. I always grab a drink before reading this book because I’d be so out of breath reading it. It rhymes pretty well and Baby Lauren loves rhymes so even if it’s very out of point, as with most baby books, she really enjoys it. This isn’t one book where she’d sit through every page though, she does get distracted in between but whenever I stop reading, she’d look at me and give me the evil eye, “And who said you could stop?” Will I recommend this book? If your baby is into rhymes, yes. If your baby is a visual learner and doesn’t care much for rhymes, then probably not.

7) Good Night Moon – Basic

I have mixed feelings about this book. I’ve heard and read many rave reviews about this book and was hoping Baby Lauren would like it but turns out, she didn’t and still, does not enjoy this book. Not very much. She doesn’t sit through this book at all. But I have mixed feelings, good feelings, about this book because Lauren first pointed out objects in THIS book. The first object she recognized was the red balloon. And today, she points at the red balloon, the kittens, the mouse, bears etc but she’s never really engaged, always picking up other books and browsing through on her own until I call out her favourite objects in this book and she’d peer over, point and then get back to whatever she was doing. Will I recommend this book? Hmmm, I think so, I heard many other babies seem to enjoy this book. Baby Lauren is a strange baby.

8) The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Basic

Baby Lauren didn’t really like this book in the beginning, for obvious reasons, it does not rhyme. This is probably for the visual/sensory learner baby. But she now points out to the egg and she likes to poke the holes in the book. What she really likes though, would be when I flap the book like the butterfly’s wings, and fly it into her face. Haha! She gets a kick out of that and looks forward to that whenever we start reading this book. But I suspect the novelty will run out pretty quickly. Illustrations are very Monet/Renoir and I personally think it’s way too impressionistic for babies BUT I am a total chicken sh*tnitz when it comes to art so yea, don’t take my word for it. Will I recommend this book? If your baby is a visual/sensory learner, yes. It’s after all, a super bestseller baby board book.

9) Where is Baby’s Belly Button? – Too Basic

This is a flap book and within just 1 month, was totally annihilated by our in-house book guerrilla. The flaps are not quite board book quality as it gets destroyed really easily. That’s what I don’t really like about this book. It teaches baby about the various body parts with peek-a-boo flaps and Lauren does point to the right body parts but it’s so simplistic she does not want to go through the same, “Where is baby’s mouth?” anymore. So we don’t read this book anymore. Will I recommend this book? I think not. Way too simplistic and does not last. Baby gets bored after 1 month or so.

10) Are You My Mother? – Intermediate

This is also a small sized board book, similar to Dr Suess ABC book. It’s on the same level of complexity, probably more suited for babies that are bored of Moo Baa La La La etc. Lauren needs more stimulation so she does like this book right now. There are the usual animals inside, so I can make the animal noises to help her remember better. It also rhymes here and there so it’s a good read by her standards. Not as intense as ABC book but doesn’t quite catch her attention so well either. I actually change the word “mother” to “mummy” to help Lauren understand the story better. Not sure if it helps, but she does seem engaged in the story most of the time. Will I recommend this book? Probably, since there are not many books that are more advanced than the entry-level ones and yet, not too advanced. If you know what I mean, haha!

11) Guess How Much I Love You? – Advanced

Ok, so this is an example of a too advanced baby board book. This is probably meant for older toddlers. At Lauren’s current level of understanding, 14 months, she is unable to appreciate this book. Maybe if your baby is advanced, you can consider this. I intend to bring it out every other week or so and try to see if it catches her attention but not quite yet. I personally love this book very much. It’s a very sweet and tender book, with a lovely ending that makes me want to hug and kiss Lauren all over. Hopefully she’d like this book soon. Will I recommend this book? Yes, I think mummies will like it, even if baby doesn’t. Haha!

12) First 100 Words – Basic

This is one of those play cards style baby board book, no story line just pictures of real life objects and their names. I really don’t like this book. It’s haphazard, lacks organization, doesn’t have good variety of pictures, I mean, “First 100 Words”, I’d be expecting much better content that helps babies learn about their surroundings. But no. More importantly, the only things that Baby Lauren is interested in, are the pictures of dogs and cats. That’s all. And erm, I have a real life dog and cat at home, so why do I even need this baby board book again? Will I recommend this book? No. I’m sorry, I’m really not into such books.

13) Ten Little Fingers And Ten Little Toes – Basic/Intermediate

After Dear Zoo, this is her current favourite. I enjoy reading this baby board book to her as well, it is written very well, a nice alternative to the usual nonsensical baby board book. The illustrations are done up very pretty too! It rhymes all the way and Baby Lauren sits through, listening intently to every word I say. It has a very nice ending too, where I get to kiss Baby Lauren’s fingers and toes, as well as plant 3 big sloppy kisses on her nose! This is the second book where she gets agitated after I say, ‘The End’. Will I recommend this book? Definitely! Well-written, beautiful illustrations and lovely ending.

Alrighteys! I hope I’ve provided some helpful information on my baby board book review. I’d be reviewing our next batch of books soon because Baby Lauren is really bored of these books. Till then, happy reading to your baby!