Customer Reviews

Babies Need Books: Sharing the Joy of Books with Children from Birth to Six

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Details the central role that words (concepts) have in the development of a capable child; Advocates reading to children from their earliest moments to make reading and thinking in words a core mental skill. Contains numerous recommendations of specific books, giving reasons, and concentrating on the features that will develop critical thinking skills, not political correctness.

This is a wonderful book for many reasons. First, like other wonderful resources of its kind such as "Honey for a Child'd Heart" and "Books Children Love" it talks about the importance and the joy of sharing books with your children, with a special emphasis on the 5 and under set. It inspires and motivates you to spend time sharing books with your small children, something many people might not think is important at all, or at least not until they're old enough to talk or understand the story. But as this book explains, the earlier children are exposed to great literature, the better.

And that is the key - "great literature" - and what makes this book so special. So much of what is being written now-a-days is "Twaddle" and not worth reading to our children. A very large percentage of the thousands of books we've bought for our family's homeschool collection over the years has been older books - usually the older the better. In fact, the copywright date is the first thing I look at when trying to decide if a book is worth buying for my kids. We do have newer books, too, but the older ones are usually our favorites.

Most of the books listed in this guide are what Charlotte Mason calls "Living Books" - stuff to feed the minds, imaginations, and souls of our children. Yes, they may be harder to find, even at the library because sadly, libraries are getting rid of more and more of the good stuff to make room for the highly marketed garbage being passed off as children's literature today. But you can still find some of them through Amazon's used booksellers and other places and they're well worth getting whenever you can. But you have to know WHAT to buy and since they're not widely available this book helps by giving you titles and descriptions to go by.

It was because of some of these "hard to find, older books" that I found THIS book in fact. I stumbled across a book called "Dogger" in a closeout bookstore for $3.00 and as soon as I read it I knew I had found a real treasure. I went back to buy more for gifts but they were sold out so, of course I checked Amazon. I found out that it was out of print and then discovered that the author, Shirley Hughes, had written many, many similar books but that they were mostly out of print, too. I bought a few from Amazon and we found each one to be more delightful than the next, though "Dogger" is still our favorite. So I started searching for any book by Shirley Hughes I could find and I came across this book, because it was illustrated by Shirley Hughes. Being a book-a-holic, especilally on the topic of anything to do with homeschooling, I had to buy it and I found it to be an incredible gem, just like the children's books that led me to it. It inspires and motivates you with why you should read to your baby and how much you'll BOTH enjoy it and describes what makes a good book at each age level and is full of suggestions of wonderful books to look for. It's done in a conversational tone, like a grandmother or old friend and full of anecdotes of real babies and their family members and their experiances with books that make you think "I want that experience for MY baby, too."

Wonderful book - get it while you can before IT'S replaced by more Twaddle!

Reading "Babies Need Books" is almost like having a conversation with a sage older neighbor or friend. Unlike tomes that list 20 billion books for each age group, this guide
pares down the selections for the 0-6s into brief and chatty chapters that get you excited about reading. It's nice to read a guide that's personal, filled with annecdotes and opinions. But best of all, her picks work! Without fail, every book I've read that Butler reccomends has been a hit with my child.

While it is true that many of the books are on the older side (it would be wonderful if there was a new edition), I have to say, I kind of like that fact that some of the books are off the beaten path. I could find most of them at Amazon or in the library, and their sometimes retro illustrations and antiquated language make them all the more interesting. I think it's good for kids to see different visual styles as well as to hear different types of language use.

Butler is also not afraid to give opinions on what not to read (see her comments on Richard Scary and "educational" books). For these reasons, and others, I give "Babies Need Books" an enthusiastic 5 stars!

A girlfriend sent Babies Need Books to me when my son was already six months old - thankfully we had been reading to him since his birth - but Dorothy Butler's facts, anecdotes and recommendations only served to strengthen our commitment to reading as a family. Now 17 months old, our son routinely brings us books, sits in our lap and waits for us to begin reading. Friends and family members have commented on his behaviour and deemed it exceptional for his age - not according to Dorothy! The reviews that indicate the recommended reading lists are out of date are missing the point in my mind. Yes some of the books are not easy to find, but we have found almost all of them, and the concepts contained therein are the meat of the lists in any event. A must have for people hoping to impart a love of reading to their children.

This book is a great firestarter for parents of infants. It shows how important the reading process is and it also points out how easy it is for parents to read to their babies. Dorothy Butler does a wonderful job with this topic and proves herself a knowing expert who can impart information to a group that is often overwhelmed with advice -- new parents.

I have to disagree with the reviewer who wrote that this book is "Great on theory; poor research on books", October 26, 1999. Dorothy Butler first became interested in children's literature while teaching English at a secondary school. All the books reviewed in "Babies need books" have been read to her 8 children and then her 17 grandchildren over many many years. Dorothy Butler's selection has nothing to do with theory but years of reading aloud to children. Many of the books reviewed have become classics. Most out of print can be found at a good library. If you love reading to your children this is one book I'd definitely recommend.

I am both confounded and annoyed that this wonderful book is not better known to American bibliophiles!

Dorothy Butler is a Kiwi (New Zealand) author and bookseller who has provided dedicated parents with a tome that is not only a guidebook through the intellectual development of babies, toddlers and preschoolers, but a fantastic guide to children's literature that is NOT THE SAME 12 BOOKS YOU ALREADY HAVE ORDERED ON AMAZON.

There's a decided Anglo-centric approach here (even though Butler herself is from N.Z.) and that means you'll get recommendations for English, Scottish, Australian and Kiwi authors, series and storybooks that aren't widely known or readily available in the States. She also promotes authors who are respected but haven't been marketed into international celebrity, such as John Burningham, Pat Hutchins and Shirley Hughes.

Yes, some of the recommended books are out of print. Yes, some of recommended books are only available overseas. And yes, that means they may be harder to find (although that's relative in this Internet-enabled world) but WHO CARES.

Butler is the wise old auntie who knows, with fairy godmother-like reliability, what excites and thrills children, and I trust her recommendations implicitly. The recommendations are generally made in a conversational style, rather than in a long, exhausting list, and she explains in depth which books stimulate children and why, confesses some biases and prejudices (book-wise) that seem to make her recommendations even more trustworthy, and generally will have you folding down corners, inserting sticky notes and sending you flying to the Internet for further information on her recommendations.

Highly recommended for all devoted readers-aloud, acolytes of Jim Trelease, homeschoolers, afterschoolers, teachers and anyone who believes in the power of books to enrich children's lives.

While I enjoyed reading the theory about why books are important to babies, I have been dismayed to find that a majority of the books recommended are out of print. More research into availability needs to go into the next edition.