It’s a Shower – a Shower of Babies!

So I have babies on the brain, and as a result, you are going to as well. As I write this, my best friend is about to pop any day now with her third child. Baby Sean-Jack-Drew (they’re not exactly sure of his name just yet) has already been causing his mother some grief and it is long past time that he man up and show his cute little boy face and accept the consequences. The consequences, I’m sure, will be many hugs and kisses and cheek pinches and oohs and aahs. Oh yeah, and many gifts.

Seriously, how fun is it to buy baby gifts? All those cute little footie-pajamas (especially the ones with feet that look like shoes/sneakers or animal heads), tiny little onesies, soft squishy baby blankets and stuffed animals… And the books. Ah, the books! I love little kid books. The stories, the illustrations, the rhymes – they’re always gloriously colorful and sweet and make me want to curl up in a comfy chair with a small child and read aloud for hours until I run out of voice or the child runs out of awake-ness. Or both.

I am a devoted Auntie. Not to any biological nieces/nephews, but to a whole host of faux-ones, courtesy of several very good friends. And Auntie Jill loves buying books – ask around. All the kids know it. She is a sucker for a pouty lip, a set of big blue eyes, or a “please Please PLEASE” – an all-day sucker, in fact. And you know what – I’m perfectly okay with that. I’m the happiest pushover you ever saw when it comes to buying books, because I think it is a fabulous thing that kids still want to own books in this day of video-, online- and insta-everything.

So in honor of Baby Sean-Jack-Drew, or whomever he ends up being once he finally makes his presence known, here is a list of my favorite baby shower/new baby gift books. His household already owns more than a few of these, courtesy of Auntie Jill and his two older brothers. As for the rest, well, they’ll be new – every child, even the third of three boys, needs some things that are his and his alone, right? 🙂

Top 10 Baby Shower/Baby Present Books (for babies and the people who read to them)

1. The Velveteen Rabbit – Margery Williams
2. If I Could Keep You Little… – Marianne Richmond
3. On the Night You Were Born – Nancy Tillman
4. Llama Llama Red Pajama – Anna Dewdney
5. Are You My Mother? – P. D. Eastman
6. Frog and Toad Are Friends – Arnold Lobel
7. Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown
8. The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle
9. The Polar Express – Chris Van Allsburg
10. Oh, the Places You’ll Go – Dr. Seuss