Tag: baby book reviews

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Baby Book Club Parenting This N' That

The Feelings Book by Todd Parr: A Great Pick to Teach Emotions

This morningā€™s baby book club pick is The Feelings Book by Todd Parr. Iā€™ve seen it in English, Spanish, and a bilingual English/Spanish edition, which is the version I picked up at Barnes & Noble, thanks to a gift card I received when my daughter was born.

There may be other translations out there too, but these are the ones Iā€™ve come across.

The cover of the kids book The Feelings Book by Todd Parr.
Image by Nina Harper

Why We Love It

šŸ’Æ Bilingual edition available (English/Spanish)

šŸ’Æ Engaging, high-contrast illustrations

šŸ’Æ Great for introducing emotional vocabulary

šŸ’Æ Especially enjoyable for neurodivergent families

šŸ’Æ More dynamic than standard black-and-white baby books

Why I Chose This Book

This pick reflects some additional goals I have for my daughterā€™s at-home bookshelf. 

I mentioned in my Sharks Teeth to Tail post that I want a good mix of topics including nature topics, planets, general science topics, good habits, math, arts and music.

Well, in addition to that, I want a variety of Spanish, English, and bilingual books.

(Oh, and did I mention I want all of this and to keep the collection around twenty books or less? I might need to adjust my expectations.)

I also chose The Feelings Book because I want to start introducing emotional intelligence concepts from the beginning. 

While Iā€™m not sure it fully qualifies as an “emotional intelligence” book, I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be more fun than I expected and felt like a great fit for our neurodivergent family.

Our Experience

Alongside the usual feelings (sad, happy), the book includes playful ones like ā€œsometimes I feel like being in the bath all dayā€ or ā€œsometimes I feel like being loud.ā€ I love that.

My daughter is drawn to the high-contrast artwork. She watches each page closely, and reaches out to touch the pages.

At first, the art style wasnā€™t my favorite, but as I read and connected with the content, I started to appreciate the unique illustrations.

In fact, if youā€™re looking for a high-contrast book recommended for newborns’ developing eyesight, this is a fantastic alternative to black-and-white baby board books.Itā€™s more engaging for both baby and parent, and I expect it to have better longevity. While thereā€™s probably a limited window for books with black-and-white baby animals, I can see The Feelings Book staying interesting for years to come.

A Closer Look at the Bilingual Edition

My husband, a native Spanish speaker, did catch one error in the translation. Still, Iā€™m really glad this book is available in a bilingual edition.

I believe itā€™ll be helpful for my daughter to see both languages side by side, paired with consistent imagery and meaning, as she develops her language skills.

Final Thoughts: Will It Stay on the Shelf?

This book didnā€™t immediately capture my heart the way No Matter What did, and itā€™s not factual like Sharks: Teeth to Tail, but it absolutely earns a spot on our favorites shelf. (Though I may have to give my husband a Sharpie to fix the translation error!)The unique art style, bilingual format, and handling of emotions in a kid-friendly (and neurodivergent-friendly) way make The Feelings Book a winner.

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Categories
Baby Book Club Parenting This N' That

Is it fair to do a baby book club anti-pick?

I don’t really like to yuck someone elseā€™s yum, especially when it comes to baby books, which are often beloved for reasons beyond critique.

But hey, this is a personal blog full of opinions, so here goes.

This book is NOT a baby book club pick, unfortunately.

A Surprising Disappointment

I recently picked up On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman at a thrift store. It had been on my list for a while with its glowing reviews, an enchanting cover, and a general ā€œmodern classicā€ vibe. But after reading it once with my daughter, I knew it wasnā€™t going to be a keeper. I promptly donated it back.

There were a few things that didnā€™t hit me right. First, I expected a lyrical, flowing story, something quiet and poetic. Instead, it felt oddly choppy and melodramatic. The illustrations were fine, but not as captivating as Iā€™d hoped.

on the night you were born
Image from Amazon.com. Yes, I donated the book back so fast I didn’t even snap my own picture.

All Eyes On Me!

What really got to me, though, was the message. The book suggests that the entire world, animals included, basically stopped to celebrate the birth of the baby reader. Itā€™s all-eyes-on-you, main-character energy, and honestly, it felt a little absurd.

Now, I do believe that every birth is precious: human and animal (and plant too, though I guess you canā€™t really call that birth).

And of course, my daughterā€™s birth was a magical event for my husband and I. I absolutely hope she grows up feeling loved and supported, and confident in her unique worth.

But I also believe weā€™d be failing as parents if we teach her that sheā€™s the only one who matters.

A Missed Message?

Maybe this book is meant more as a familyā€™s ā€œwelcome to the worldā€ kind of message. If so, it just didnā€™t hit the right notes for me. It felt overly grand, and not in a way I found healthy.

I only read it to my daughter once and knew Iā€™d find it too grating to repeat. She didnā€™t seem especially into the illustrations either, though Iā€™m not sure why.

Not Sure About That Cover Art Choice…

Tangent: Iā€™m not trying to deprive her of a story for political reasons, butā€¦ really? Weā€™re putting polar bears, the poster animals for climate change victimization, on the cover, doing a celebration dance for more humans?

I’m not anti-baby. The cover art just seems tone-deaf.

I dream of a world where we can have both: polar bears and every other species and happy, healthy human babies, as many as we want, no restrictions. But weā€™re not going to get there unless we humans figure out how to coexist better with each other and the natural world.

TL;DR

I was less than enchanted.

Psst.. our favorites so far are No Matter What and Sharks Teeth to Tail.

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Baby Book Club Parenting Product Reviews This N' That

Baby Book Club: A Chomping Good Baby Book! šŸ¦ˆ

We (Ellie and I!) are back with another baby book club post. Our book of choice today is a book about sharks called Sharks Teeth to Tail from Smithsonian kids. Sharks Teeth to Tail was written by Jaye Garnett with illustrations by Beatrice Tinarelli.

This book was another thrift store find, and it caught my eye because my husband loves sharks.

a baby book called Sharks Teeth to Tail with images of different sharks on the cover
Image by Nina Harper

It also looked like a good choice to me, because I am trying to ensure that I get her a variety of books to grow up with.

I have gotten her a few princess-y books (such as one cute search and find princess book with little flaps to open to search for the crown) but I want to make sure she is exposed to nature books, planet books, science books, books about good habits, books about arts and music, and more.

I also want to be intentional about getting her plenty of math books. One of the princess books I picked up is actually a math princess book, so I’m excited for that one as well!

Back to the shark book.

Sharks Teeth to Tail is a nice sturdy book. It is full of information; this is not one of those rhyming story books with a few lines. No, this book contains precise information on shark senses, parts of a shark (first dorsal fin, pectoral fin, etc), types of shark teeth, “notable” sharks, and suggestions for helping your kids follow the spark of curiosity (such as visiting an aquarium and drawing pictures of the sharks there).

My baby daughter was actually very interested in this book. I guess the combination of pictures and colors on each page was appealing. This book does also have that texture feature, where some of the images are raised, but my daughter isn’t quite there yet on exploring textures.

I do love that this book features real pictures of different kinds of sharks, and real terms. The information is not “dumbed down.”

I actually enjoyed learning about sharks from this book too. For instance, I learned that bull sharks have a special ability to swim in fresh water as well as salt water!

I also enjoyed the book for a silly reason. The images of the different shark teeth brought back a very specific childhood memory for me in which I worked overtime to convince my dad to let me buy a shark book from the Scholastic catalog. Even though I was a reader as a kid, I didn’t care about the book at all. I wanted the tiger shark tooth necklace that came with it!

I remember my dad being pretty good at seeing through that kind of thing, but I guess in this case I wore him down because I did get that shark book and necklace.

Sharks Teeth to Tail is joining No Matter What on the favorites shelf.

Categories
Baby Book Club Parenting This N' That

What is Baby Book Club?

I havenā€™t posted about the Baby Book Club in a few days, and to be honest, Iā€™m still refining what I want this series to become.

But then I realized: I never actually explained what ā€œbaby book clubā€ even means.

So. Letā€™s fix that!

ā€œBaby book clubā€ isnā€™t an official thing. It doesnā€™t follow a curriculum. Thereā€™s no meeting schedule or membership list.

But it does mean something to me.

Itā€™s a playful name that popped into my brain one night when I was getting excited about all the books I want to read with my daughter, and all the stories I hope sheā€™ll get to discover as she grows. Itā€™s about building a life where books are part of the everyday rhythm.

To me, the phrase ā€œbaby book clubā€ brings together two great things:

  • A love of reading and stories
  • And a sense of community, something book clubs have always symbolized

Iā€™ve noticed the spirit of reading, writing, and book-loving communities feels like it’s fading a little in our culture. That makes me sad. So this series is one small way Iā€™m holding onto it, and hopefully passing that love on to my daughter.

When I think back on my own childhood and teen years, I remember so many peaceful, joyful hours spent lost in books. Every novel was a new world, full of possibility and adventure.

Here are just a few of the series that held a special place in my heart growing up (some of them when I was way older than my daughter is now!):

  • Cam Jansen
  • Nancy Drew
  • The Magic Tree House
  • The Babysitterā€™s Club
  • Dear America
  • Redwall
  • The Boxcar Children
  • Harry Potter
  • The Rats of NIMH

(I also raided my momā€™s collection of Danielle Steele and Nicholas Sparks books when I was around 11. I donā€™t think Iā€™ll encourage that for my daughter. It wasnā€™t exactly age appropriate reading!)

This series is about sharing that joy, reflecting on what books have meant to us, and building excitement for what they might mean to our kids.

If youā€™re reading this, Iā€™d love to hear from you! What books or series are your children loving right now? 

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Baby Book Club Book Club Parenting Product Reviews

Get your roar on! A dino-rific baby book club

Today’s baby book club read is another gem found at a library book sale. Dinosaur Dance! is a very unassuming little board book by Sandra Boynton.

a baby book with dinosaurs dancing on the cover
Image by Nina Harper

I was not expecting much, to be honest, but was happily surprised that the book has a pretty great rhythm overall, with only one or two places where I thought “huh?”.

The illustrations also did not look particularly appealing, but they turned out to be pretty cute after all. Just look at this grumpy little T-Rex face.

inside page of book with t-rex dancing
Image by Nina Harper

I like reading this book to my daughter because it is short and the rhythm of the lines catches her attention, especially if I give it a little extra oompf while I’m reading.

I also think that it will hold up well into the toddler years since it includes real dino names, as opposed to just describing them by size or color.

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