Our first granddaughter is due in October.
I am going to be the book "bonus" Gigi...because one of the other grandmas and great grandma are both quilters and I am not stepping on toes...

I have started a list to create a library for Layla, and I am already so overwhelmed by the number of books that she MUST own!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

What are your favorites? (Not Dr. Seuss as he has his own thread already??)
I'm gonna be SO BROKE, lol

It seems like there are frequently a lot of juvenile/baby books at garage sales.

Some of them look brand new.

Although you might write down the titles of the ones that look beat up - those might be "the good/loved" ones.

I like most any of the Golden Books.

I cannot remember the name, but it's something like, I Love You More.

good night moon,(i must have read goodnight moon a zillion times) love you more, five little monkeys,

"pat the bunny" by Dorothy Kunhardt is a MUST. I buy one for most new babies in the family. There are all sorts of textures for baby to feel. There is also a Christmas book with different textures. Don't know the name of it, but your local book store should be able to get it.

Rainbow Fish

Are you referring to Love you Forever the one about the baby that grows up then cares for his mom? It is a great Book by Robert Munsch

Any of the Mercer Mayer books for toddlers

Golden Books! Have you seen how they have jumped in price? Granted I bought for our kids back in the early 70's, but now I've seen them for over three dollars each!
My granddaughter does loves them so I am doubly glad I kept them. She really likes to 'read' and she does the same thing her daddy did. You read her the book a couple times and then she can 'read' it back to you.

I had my kids in like two stages; there is about 10 years difference between the youngest one in the first stage and the oldest one in the second stage. When I got pregant after all of that time I had nothing and while I was pregnant I signed up for the book of the month for Disney and Dr Seus. There are so many great books for kids. My grandson was in preschool this year and he brought home Boom Chicka Boom Boom. I could of read that to him all night. It was so good I went on line and got it for my Nook and It is a read to me book so he can listen to it when he wants. I'd go to a books store and start going thru the kids books to see what you like. Congratulations

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish - another Dr. Suess book. They are all good. I made a Dr Suess quilt for my new granddaughter born Monday and gave it to her Mom with a Dr Suess book. With Love, from Grandma.

Good Night Gorilla was a huge hit at our house. Are You My Mother? is another good one. Any of the Eric Carle books.

All great choices... you should SEE the list I already had before I started LOOKING.... yikes...but in a good way!

Don't forget Harold and the Purple Crayon, Hats for Sale, Tikki Tikki Tembo, The Napping House, The Magic Fish, Make way for Ducklings, Where the Wild Things Are...


:mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Lily's Purple Plastic Purse
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Miss Bindergarten Goes to Kindergarten
Goodnight Moon
Pat the Bunny
Go Dog Go
Owl Moon
Click Clack Moo
Any of the Clifford Books
Any Caldecot Award winner (you can find a list online)
Anything by Dr. Seuss or Mercer Mayer
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Very Busy Spider
Anything by Maurice Sendak
Any of the Little Bear Series

That should give you a good start.

Berenstain Bears were my DD's favourites. http://www.berenstainbears.com/

Very Hungry Caterpillar
Goodnight Moon
There's a Nightmare in my Closet

I could go on and on, but these were all time favorites at our house...

ditto

My absolute favorite childrens book is "The Giving Tree"...as for stepping on toes..I figure its my grandchild too I make quilts and do whatever I want for my grands..if the other do as well ..its all good.

Toddler books don't often make it to the Goodwill/Thrift stores ... but sometimes they do. If it is a boy, do invest in a few Richard Scarry books like Cars & Trucks and things that go ... my boys loved them to death.

I'll Love you forever
and any Richard Scarry books.

Anything by Eric Carle..Very Hungry Caterpillar, the Very Busy Spider, Brown Bear Brown bear. My grandson has also taken a liking to the "No, David" books.
Donal Crews train book is good for colors.
Any of the boardbooks you find with texture spots are favorites with my 14 month old. The four year old has recently discovered fairy tales, but they can be a little dark, if you don't explain that it is all make-believe. Have fun. I'm a retired teacher and yesterday my DGS looked at my books and told me it looked like I had my own library. In spite of my husband's complaints I knew I had done the right thing by saving my favorite books.

Good for you!!! IMHO you are giving your GD one of the best gifts she will ever recieve. I did the same with my GC.
My parents got books for my brothers and I when we were very little and I was always thrilled to get a new one.

I have a recommendation for the new parents. It's called The Baby Book by William Sears, M.D. He is a pediatrician, his wife is a pediatric nurse, and they have 8 children - if anyone knows kids, it's this couple. My husband researched all the baby books and got this book for me when I was pregnant with our first son, and by the time our second son was in kindergarten that book was WORN OUT. It has great advice for new parents, especially when it's 3 am and the baby won't stop crying and you're freaking out and don't know what to do and you can't call Grandma for help! I cannot recommend it enough.

The Honey Hunt and anything else Berenstain Bears!

Good Night Moon and anything by Eric Carle...

It's my stepdaughters baby...so I am a bonus grandparent...and I "KNOW" how my stepdaughters mother and grandmother are, so it's easier if I don't compete, for family harmony... They might both pick apart my quilting, my color choices, my pattern choice, lol...

I have made her one quilt, and it's not like I won't in the future, I just LOVE books even more, and plan to keep that my signature gift...

Keep the books coming (most were already on my list, but there are some others I've missed!)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Pat the Bunny
The Icky sticky Frog
The Grumpy Lady Bug

Start haunting your local thrift store or goodwill. I've found unbelievable amounts of books in good to great/like new condition for about 25 cents each. These way you can have books that the baby can "read" herself and don't worry about them getting torn up.

Also, check out the Kohl's Cares for Kids books. They come out with a different set each quarter. The books revolve around a theme. They are usually hard back books. Normally (but not always) there are four books and four matching stuffed animals. Right now they've got the Clifford books. In the past I've gotten the Eric Carl books, Curious George books, and the Duck Soup books. I've also seen the Dr. Seuss books there too. Books and stuffed animals cost $5.00 each.

The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge
Any books by Virginia Lee Burton: Mike Mulligan and his Steamshovel, Katy and the Big Snow, The Little Hous
Little Blue and Little Yellow
The Snowy Day
Madeline
The Sweetest Fig
The Widow's Broom
The Polar Express
Caps for Sale
Each Peach,Pear Plum
Blueberries for Sal
The Runaway Bunny & Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
The Giving Tree
Miss Rumphius
Owl Babies
Little Oh
My 'baby' (16) will occasionally dig some out and read again.

Berenstain Bears, my oldest loved them!

I Like You - http://www.amazon.com/I-Like-You-Sen...1127692&sr=1-1

childlike verses such as this...

I like you because if I think I am going to
throw up then you are really sorry

You don't just pretend you are busy looking at
the birdies and all that

You say maybe it was something you ate

You say the same thing happened to me sometime

Is Your Mama a Llama, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, all Shel Silverstein books, a book of Bible Stories and all the books mentioned plus tons more. For baby showers the last few years we ask people to bring children's books to start the library. Usually by the end of the shower we are all going through the books talking about favorite parts.

When my dgd was born, we read her the Psalms from the Bible...not a children's Bible Story.
She is now 12, an avid reader but her favorite "bedtime story" is her Bible.

Along with several of the ones already listed, here are some of my favorite:
This Little Prayer of Mine, by Anthony DeStefano
God's Wisdom for Little Girls, by Elizabeth George
God's Wisdom for Little Boys, by Elizabeth George
5-Minute Good Night Stories, (27 stories, includes Velveteen Rabbit) Publications International
Baby Animal Stories, Publications International
I'm Gonna Like Me, by Jamie Lee Curtis & Laura Cornwell
When I Was Little, by Jamie Lee Curtis & Laura Cornwell

Here's a book that every quilter should have!!
And should share with every child ... perhaps it should have a Bear Paw Quilt in accompaniment!

Selina and the Bear Paw Quilt

http://www.amazon.ca/Selina-Bear-Qui...ion/0773758372

I found it, it's Guess How Much I Love You
Sam McBratney (Author), Anita Jeram (Illustrator)

Sweet Slumber, You mentioned Blueberries for Sal. I didn't think that was still around. I'm 68 and mo mother read it to me when I was a kid. She gave it to me when my kids were born. I'lll have to check if it's packed away with their old books.

Some of my son's favorite's are the Laura Numeroff books!
If you give a mouse a cookie
If you take a mouse to school
If you give a moose a muffin
If you give a pig a pancake
If you take a mouse to the movies
If you give a pig a party

Those are the ones that he has :) I think we are missing a couple. He loves them.
The Curious George Books are pretty cute too!

Since she isn't born yet I suggest that you start with some touch and feel board books! My son LOVED those.
He had a fun one that is in pretty bad shape from constant loves. It was all about dogs. You could feel all sorts of different types of "fur" He loved it.

And at about 18 months his favorite book was my BIG book of animals. I believe is what it was called. Had all the farm animals in it and all of the regular pets and such. He loved to point to each animal and find out what they were and what sound they made. Over and over and over again :)

And then when he was like 2.5 we found the little book of animals or something. It was full of wildlife. Jungle animals, Arctic animals, sea life, birds and so on. He loved to go through and tell me what all of the animals were. Again over and over again! He is almost 5 and still loves these two books! They are also the hard board books so good for little ones :)