I love this age for reading to babies because it is when reading is first starting to be more of an interactive experience. Don’t misunderstand me, I read books to my babies before they were 6 month’s old and I loved it. (Plus I think it’s important/beneficial to start right away.) However, at this age your baby’s vision will have developed a lot more and they should be able to start recognizing basic items. In addition, they should be able to recognize a bit of vocabulary for items that are familiar to them such as “mom” and “bottle”. You know, the words that generally become their first words.
When my kids reached this age they seemed more attentive when I read to them than ever before and I could tell that they were really observing the illustrations and listening to the words. (When they were in the mood that is. Babies will be babies!) They would even point to pictures sometimes or even try to babble along with my reading. I absolutely loved it all!
Tips For What Books to Read to 6-12 Month Olds
- Board books or cloth books. You want these becuase they are more sturdy and they are also easier for babies to begin learning how to turn pages on their own.
- Books with very few words. It is great for building vocabulary when you have one illustration matched with one word. It keeps things simple and the repetition of reading them again and again can help your child expand t heir vocabulary.
- Books with bold and bright illustrations. Babies at this age are very much still at a stage where they are more likely to focus on bright colors. Play into that with some colorful books!
- Books with photographs are also wonderful for this age. Babies love seeing realistic photos that they can easily recognize, especially of faces.
- Touch and feel books. Not only are they wonderful sensory experiences for your children, but they encourage babies to interact with the book and practice fine motor skills.
- Books with shiny accents. For the same reason you want to find books with bold and bright illustrations.
- If you are going for a book with more text, I find that rhyming text with a great rhythm is wonderful. Even if they can’t understand a lot of the words, they will love listening to the rhythm of them.
I loved reading with my babies at this age and this was the age where I felt like they were truly becoming little book worms. My oldest especially would bring me book after book for me to read all day. Sometimes we would even read the same book a dozen times within the same day. I loved that he was becoming passionate about them and feel like an early introduction to books is key in helping him become a lifelong reader.
If you’re looking for specific book suggestions for this age then check out THIS POST HERE.
If you’re looking for tips to enhance story time for this age then check out THIS POST HERE.
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