Please help with books for 12-18 months....

[veronica]

I tend to pick up books from TJMaxx or Marshalls on sale for DD who just turned 1. When I see other people with books, they have the cutest ones like the counting monkeys and stuff. It got me to thinking that I feel like such a book dummy (I didn't even know about Good Night Moon until after DD was born). What does your 12-18 mo. DC love?-and where do you buy? I hate paying full price. TIA

[sidmand]

I've got some!

Susan on here recommended "Baby Danced the Polka" and DS LOVED it when he was about 12 months. Now he still likes it, but not quite as much.

A couple of other favorites are the "10 Wriggly Wiggly Caterpillars" and "Dear Zoo." He really likes an lift-the-flap type book and the caterpillar one he likes poking the caterpillars and the holes. I actually wouldn't recommend that one for a 1-year-old because there is a pop-up in the back of butterflies that gets destroyed very quickly (unless your DC isn't into pulling pages, but at that age, I think they all are!), but there are others very similar like "10 Little Ladybugs" etc.

Some we do get at TJ Maxx, some we buy used on Amazon, some we got at Bookcloseouts.com, and some we do buy new. Basically, if I think DS is going to eat it, I don't usually get a used one, but a discounted and/or new one, although I agree, I hate paying full price for books!

If you're not against noise, he also really loves any book that he can push the buttons and make music. We have an Elmo one, a Pooh one, and of all things, a Scooby-Doo one! He kind of picked that one out himself at a Barnes and Noble and I *had* to buy it!

But now's a good time. You could always ask for books for the holidays. Or gift cards...

Debbie
http://b2.lilypie.com/BI7Tm5.png

[kirstensmom]

Books that DD loved were:
dear zoo
boynton books - favorites were The Going to Bed Book, Pajama Time, Barnyard Dance and Snuggle Puppy
The very hungry caterpillar

DS isn't into books yet but I have Goodnight Gorilla (dd 4 yr loves it) for him

For dd I bought books at tj maxx/marshalls but they've been lacking lately. They usually have the boynton books though. For ds I bought two lift the flap books at PBK at full price which are cute - look who's talking on the farm and look who's talking at the zoo.

Sometimes I find books just by browsing Borders. Sign up for their club and get emails with coupons

Michelle
Mom to Kirsten 8/02
DS due 9/5/05

[BeachBum]

I just wanted to say that I don't think you are behind. Well if you are, I am too. DS is 15 mo and most of our books have come from TJMarshallRoss too. I think they have great deals, and a lot of the popular books for young toddlers.

DS still doesn't listen to the story, and so I just look for books that have a mix of objects that he will recognize and new things. Mostly we just look through the books and point.

I agree that he also really likes lift the flap and pop up books. I just try not to get upset when they get broken. Most of the time we only do those together (supervised) but they have still gotten torn etc.

[first_baby_for_me]

I hate paying full price too so I tend to watch for specials on sites like amazon.com. They frequently have buy three, get the fourth free and most books qualify for their free shipping with $25.00 purchase.

I scour the bargain books at Barnes & Noble and Borders and have found some really nice oversized board books.

I also joined Borders Rewards program (free to sign up). It's an in-store program where you earn points toward free merchandise at the holidays. I earned only $8.00 this year, but was able to increase my balance by transferring points from my e-rewards.com account. While all that may sound like alot of effort, it was very easy. Oh - and the coolest part of the Borders Rewards program are the coupons they e-mail out. I just got one for 30% off! It's burning a hole in my pocket.

Links for more info: http://www.bordersrewards.com and http://www.e-rewards.com.

As far as which books we have...we started out with Goodnight Moon and Counting Kisses (Karen Katz) when our DD was a few months old. Since then she's gotten many books as gifts and we've gone a little crazy ourselves. She's 21 months now and loves the numerous other Karen Katz board books, the DK My First picture board books (especially the touch & feel ones), and the Leslie Patricelli board books.

Good luck and happy book shopping!

[thomma]

If you want cheap books, check out bookcloseouts.com. Can't go wrong!
I always look there first. If I'm unsure of the book, I check it out at amazon.

Kim
ds&dd 5/03

[dules]

From TJ/Marshall's you can usually find:

Boynton books
Brown Bear, Brown Bear
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Mouse Paint
Where is Baby's Belly Button?
Touch and Feel books - Touch and Feel Farm, Puppies, etc.
Priddy Baby Books (first words, etc.) - these grated on me but DD loved them.


Mary

[jennifer_r]

Here's some of the favorites at my house:

Now for your DD:
I know a Rhino (one of my faves, soooo cute!!!)
Chugga Chugga Choo Choo
The Bear series by Stella Blackstone (Bear at Home, Bear Goes to Town, etc.)
I am a Bunny (so Zen-like, so peaceful)
Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert (it has holes in it like The Very Hungry Caterpillar)
Jamberry
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? (we're big fans of Dr. Seuss)
The Shape of Me and Other Stuff (another Dr. Seuss book)

Closer to 18 months:
Silly Sally (closer to 18 months - but I never get tired of reading it)
The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins
Jesse Bear, what will you wear?
Go, Dog, Go
Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom


I buy most of my books from Amazon; they give great discounts but, usually not on board books, unfortunately.

HTH

Jennifer

Mom to:
Christopher 12/29/89
Adelaide 8/23/04
Bronwyn 11/9/05

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img][/url] Woohoo! 1 year and counting . . .

[dules]

Oh! I had forgotten I Know a Rhino and Jamberry! Two of our absolute favorites. I think I know them by heart. :)


Mary

[kayte]

I usually look at books at the bookstore and then request them through paperbackswap.com I have had great luck with getting all the classics and new titles--- board book and picture books. I have a bunch on my wish list and we get on average 1 children's book every 2 weeks. I LOVE that website for DD and for us.

Also here is a good list sorted by age from about.com

http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/agegradebooksby/Books_by_Age_Grade.htm

If you want lists of new books, Family Fun does a list every year that are available on their website. I happened to have the 2003 bookmarked for something --here is the link.

http://familyfun.go.com/parenting/learn/activities/feature/bestbooks1203/bestbooks1203.html

Hope that helps.

[scoop22]

ds loves any book that has differnt feels to them. he loves to touch every picture. i ds hates books with words. he loves picture books. he does like

pat the bunny
i love you through and through

he likes the brainy baby books.

i will only buy books onsale as well. definitly tjmaxx is better than other places,
http://b2.lilypie.com/XbITm4.png

[shilo]

ds really enjoys pretty much any Boynton board book, which you can usually find at tjmaxx. favorites by her around here are Doggies and Hippo's go Berserk (both counting books), Snuggle Puppy, Barnyard Dance, Moo Baa La La La and The Going to Bed book.

Eric Carle does Brown Bear, Brown Bear - which became one of ds's favs sometime around your dd's age. so then we picked up Polar Bear, Polar Bear and Panda Bear, Panda Bear which he also looovvveesss.

he also likes the Priddy books you can find at tjmaxx, especially the big square ones (about 12" by 12"). Priddy books are mostly just collections of photo's with the name underneath. ds loves to point at the pictures and have someone name them. as they learn the names, you can turn it into a game - "where's the airplane sam?" "do you see something red sam?" "what does the doggie say sam?" - you get the picture. he also really likes their truck and construction themed books.

good night moon, good night gorilla, the runaway bunny, guess how much i love you, pat the bunny, i'll love you forever are all favorites around here.

hth, lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[kitmama]

The all-time faves in this house for that age group are:

"Everywhere Babies"
"The Runaway Bunny"
"Me Baby, You Baby"
(those are Sweetcheeks' current favorites)

"Pat the Bunny"
"Goodnight Moon"
"Barnyard Dance"
"The Owl and the Pussycat" (illustrated by Jan Brett)
"The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
touch and feel books
"Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?"
"Baby Faces"

I keep an updated list of books we would like to add to our library, and anytime someone asks what gift to get one of the boys I offer the list. We've received several great books this way. Otherwise, I must admit I usually pay full price. I ought to buy used on Amazon instead!

[C99]

About 1-2 times a year, I buy a bunch of books from BookCloseouts.com They often have good deals on kid books.

My DD loves to read, but we don't limit her to board books now that she knows not to tear the pages. Some of her favorites:

Dorothy Kunhardt's Pat the Bunny
Sandra Boynton's board books (there are 8 in the series, although we only have 2)
Carole Boston Weatherford's Jazz Baby
Peek-a-Zoo
Phyllis Root's Rattletrap Car
Michele Edwards and Phyllis Root's What's That Noise?
Curious George's Neighborhood (A Lift-the-Flap Adventure)
Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon
Mary Murphy's I Kissed the Baby

[KentuckyRK]

I tell ya, the books that Connor has REALLY liked have really not been the ones I thought he'd like. Though he's a little older at 26 months he's liked these for a while now

His favorite books right now are;
-"A Lighthouse Saves the Day"
he is fascinated with "Yighthouses" as he calls them and has totally memorized this book

http://palighthouse.bizhosting.com/book_lh_saves_the_day_2214.html

-"The Monster at the End of This Book"
I wasn't even aware that this book was still around but LOVED it myself as a child. He ADORES it

http://www.amazon.com/Monster-This-Book-Birds-Favorites/dp/0375805613

-"Miss Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pies"
This is a Halloween Story, but it's wonderful and I even bought a copy for myself. He really likes this one and asks to read "miss inona's pumptin pies" every day even now. We also have "Scarecrow Pete" which we just bought but he's too interested in this one so we're waiting on it.

http://www.amazon.com/Miss-Fionas-Stupendous-Pumpkin-Pies/dp/0824954890/sr=11-1/qid=1166330563/ref=sr_11_1/105-3874822-1189206

-"Otto Goes to the Beach" and other "Otto" stories by Todd Parr
Connor LOVES Otto and the books are colorful, fun, and easy to read.

http://www.amazon.com/Otto-Goes-Beach-Todd-Parr/dp/0316738700