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Chances are, your baby shower showered you with copies of Goodnight Moon, and you, if not your little one, are ready to move on. Kathleen Odean--former children's librarian, chair of the 2002 Newbery Award committee, and author of Great Books for Girls and other excellent children's literature guides--has compiled 500 book recommendations for babies and toddlers. The time to begin sha... More

Chances are, your baby shower showered you with copies of Goodnight Moon, and you, if not your little one, are ready to move on. Kathleen Odean--former children's librarian, chair of the 2002 Newbery Award committee, and author of Great Books for Girls and other excellent children's literature guides--has compiled 500 book recommendations for babies and toddlers. The time to begin sharing books with children is during babyhood. As the introduction states, "Reading to young children sets them on the path of emergent literacy, a term that sums up all the ways children become at home with language, reading, and writing well before they can decipher or print a recognizable word." In addition to book recommendations, Odean offers plenty of insight into early child development, tips on reading aloud, and careful listings of additional print and online resources for information about children's literature.

Odean's friendly, accessible guide recommends books in two primary categories: "Nursery Rhymes, Fingerplays, and Songs" and "Picture-Story Books for the Very Young." Each thoughtful, decidedly "un-canned" review demonstrates how a book can be used with a child and describes its distinctive characteristics--the basic content, the look and feel of the illustrations, and the sound of the language. Information such as author, illustrator, publisher, age range, and which editions are currently in print is also provided. You'll find wonderful new castings of tried-and-true Mother Goose rhymes and favorite classics along with picture-book discoveries from Jules Feiffer's Bark, George to Peggy Rathmann's board-book edition of 10 Minutes Till Bedtime . Odean is not only knowledgeable, she has great taste, to boot. This could be the most valuable baby-shower gift you ever give, but if you have any interest in children's literature at all you'll want to keep a copy for yourself.--Karin Snelson

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