A Great Book for Babies

My kid got a bunch of books for Christmas. I’ve been reading books to her before naps for quite a while, but in the last few weeks she has started to enjoy books beyond attempts to put them in her mouth. Last week she suddenly showed an interest in turning pages and lifting flaps. Of the assortment of books she has, one book has become the most read–Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book, by Rob Campbell. It’s not necessarily my favorite (I really like the book with gumdrops and cupcakes) or her favorite (she really likes the sheep book), but it seems to maximize total enjoyment from the reading experience.

Why we like this book:

• It’s somewhat fun to read. It’s somewhat interesting, a reasonable amount of repetition, no terrible misuses of the English language in an attempt to rhyme. No rhymes at all, although I’m not opposed to rhymes.
• Simple pictures. The only pictures on the page are of the animal in discussion, including a flap containing the animal’s container. Eventually, my child will enjoy more complicated pictures, but now she can concentrate on lifting the flap without being distracted by other pictures.
• Sturdy flaps. At least, the edition of the book we have is sturdy. It’s probably classified as a “board book” if you’re looking online. The kid has minimally bent a couple of flaps, but hasn’t torn them. That statement is not true for other lift-the-flap books.

If you’re looking for a baby gift book, this would be good. I’m guessing it’s less appropriate for a child over one (my kid is seven months old).