2006 Best Books for Babies

Duckie’s Ducklings. Barry, Frances Candlewick Press: 2005
Cleverly shaped pages, bright, simple images, an amusing story, and a damp, delightful happy ending make this tale of baby ducklings lost and found a pleasure to share with young listeners.

Honey Baby Sugar Child. Duncan, Alice Faye. Illustrated by Susan Keeter. Simon & Schuster: 2005
A perfect portrait of a mother’s love for her child, the paintings in this appealing picture book feature an African-American mother and her smiling baby boy.

My Garden = Mi Jardin. Emberley, Rebecca. Little Brown: 2005
Bold, colorful shapes on white board pages introduce children to familiar garden sights in two languages, English and Spanish, from dirt (la tierra) to vegetables (las verduras).

Snuggle Up, Sleepy Ones. Freedman, Claire. Illustrated by Tina Macnaughton. DGood Books: 2005
Soft illustrations and soothing words combine to show a variety of jungle animals settling down for the night.

A Truck Goes Rattley-Bumpa. London, Jonathan. Illustrated by Denis Roche. Henry Holt: 2005 Lots of trucks drive noisily through the pages of this book whose pictures tell the story of a family’s move to a new home.

Star Baby. O’Hair, Margaret. Illustrated by Erin Eitter Kono. Clarion Books: 2005
A beloved baby’s day is described in rhymes and pictures, with the focus always kept squarely on the busy, beautiful baby.

Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling. Pearson, Tracey Campbell. Farrar Straus Giroux: 2005
This familiar rhyme finds new life in a board book version featuring a sleepy young African-American boy sharing a bedtime story with his dad.

Alphabet House. Wallace, Nancy. Illustrated by John Sandford. Marshall Cavendish: 2005
Cut paper pictures show plenty of everyday items for each letter of the alphabet, encouraging plenty of point-and-say fun.

This Little Piggy. Yolen, Jane. Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand. Candlewick Press: 2005
This charmingly illustrated collection includes instructions on how to play bouncing and clapping games and act out rhymes as well as providing musical notation for songs, all of which will encourage parents and grandparents to enjoy actively sharing these verses with young listeners.