story time favorites

We don’t have to tell you why reading is so fundamentally important for the growth and development of little ones.  Instead, today we wanted to share some of our top picks for story time.  Whether you’re reading together throughout the day or just before bed time every night, we hope that you’ll grab one of our book recs or one of your own, snuggle in and read together for some simple family fun!

Neesha

Ayven’s favorite: Baby Beluga

Baby Beluga is a classic and the best part about this book is that you can sing it. Ayven has loved this book since he was 8 months old and loves singing it during bedtime.

The story is great as it shows how Beluga plays with all of his friends, has a wonderful day, curls up with his mommy to go to sleep and wakes up for another beautiful day. The animals in this book make it so much fun for kids to enjoy! I sing this song even without the book and it immediately calms him down. ☺

 

Puja

Laila’s favorite: On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier

My sister handed me this book a week or two after Laila was born. I read it aloud and broke into tears of joy when I finished reading it, (don’t worry, you don’t cry every time you read it, but you definitely do get this flutter of love as you read it and look down at your little one).

It is one of the most poetic childhood books I’ve ever read on just what a miracle our children are to us as parents. Each page is like a painting as well, alive with color and this beautiful story. An excerpt: “On the day you were born the round planet Earth turned toward your morning sky, whirling past darkness, spinning the night into light.” Laila is 3 and ½ months old, and the colors, the way it is written that’s perfect for reading out loud, plus the message of welcome and sheer happiness of her arrival are all perfect for reading to her.

 

Shraddha

Jai’s favorite: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle

When my niece Aria was little, she loved Brown Bear and I always knew that this would be one of the first books that I would one day get for my baby too.  We’ve been reading this book to Jai since he was 4 months…he loves it so much, that all he has to see is the cover to instantly start smiling and giggling.

This book is perfect for even younger babies because for the most part, there’s just one vivdly colorful animal/person per page. When we read it, I go over the animal itself, the sound it would make and the color that it is.  It’s so amazing that Jai already shows preference for the pages he likes to see most…right now, he into the yellow duck, green frog and goldfish.  Before it was the teacher!  The rhythm and repetition of the words is fun for little ears to hear and makes it easy to follow along.  I can see why it’s such a classic and definitely should be on the bookshelf in every child’s room.

 

Reena

Nyah and Kaiden’s favorite: From Head To Toe by Eric Carle

When both of my kids were babies, I’d always read this book to them before bedtime.  This is a great story by one of my favorite authors, Eric Carle. They loved how I read the book and made every movement in it.

For example I would say…”I’m a monkey and I wave my arms. Can you do it?  I can do it!”  I’d wave my arms in the air like a monkey.  To this day my kids, who are now 2 and 4, still want me to read this book to them every night.  It’s amazing to see them do the moves in the book with me now!

 

Make time for reading everyday with your little ones!

-Chai Mommas