Whenever I receive information on the latest Board Books to be published by Nosy Crow I am immediately excited by not only the titles that continue an amazing series, but also those that have the potential to be the beginning of a fantastic collection of books to build a little ones library with. I love that each Board Book has the potential to create a future bookworm, and plays an important part in a baby/toddler’s learning. I love looking through each book and knowing that I will gift it on, after I feature it on here, to someone’s little one and they will get so much joy out of it. These are the latest titles from Nosy Crow to arrive at mine, and I am delight to be sharing them with you.
Baby’s First Cloth Book – Cuddly LADYBIRD
I’ve said it before on here, and I honestly do not mind saying it again either, Ingela P Arrhenius is a children’s book author and illustrator that I have come to associate with the best titles for babies and toddlers, and this cloth book is the latest example of her brilliance. This book comes in a beautiful presentation box that really depicts it as a special gift for special new additions to families and social circles, and the high contrast images in black and white are exactly what newborn babies need as they start to take in details around them. The felt flaps that feature inside are brightly coloured, and soft to touch, as is the entire book, making it perfectly safe for little ones. This book features animals and nature you would see on a walk through the park including duck, dog, and flower.
Another additional detail worthy of mention is that this book comes with a buggy strap attached, which is always super handy when giving little ones things to interact with whilst on the move (and avoiding those items getting lost or dropped on dirty floors etc), and there is a mirror at the end of the book to encourage little ones to notice themselves in the reflection too. I often ponder over what to gift an expectant mum at a baby shower or once the newborn baby has arrived and this book is everything I would want to give as a present, and to think this crinkle paged cloth book could be the first book before a lifetime of reading for a child gives me goose bumps to even consider. I will absolutely be buying this book next time someone I know has a baby, and there are plans for at least one more title (hopefully many, many, more) to publish in this style by Nosy Crow later this year, which I really look forward to getting my hands on. I never had the opportunity to buy this style and theme of book for my children when they were babies but if this book had of been an option I know it would have become their favourite thing as they grew, and cherished even now in their teens, because Baby’s First Cloth Book is a very special book indeed.
Listen to the Baby Animals
Another new addition to the Listen to the series from Marion Billet comes complete with sound buttons that allow little ones to hear what noise a host of animals make with lambs, kittens, puppies, piglets, and chicks all featuring, with the latter making this a cute addition to your little ones books this Easter too!
We love this series in my house, with my nephew now actively seeking out the button on each page to activate the relevant sound for what is beautifully illustrated on the page, and he will love this addition to his books here at my house because he finds the bright colours of the illustrations attract his attention, we then talk more about what is on the page, and then he eagerly awaits the turn of the page to see and learn about more and more as a result. The sounds are so realistic, and adorable to hear, and help little ones learn better then the sounds we try making to mimic the sounds of these animals and more. Some little ones will likely even recognise the sounds as those their pet makes, and that will further put a smile on their faces as they delight over this fabulous, interactive, and engaging book.
Bizzy Bear : Little Gardener
With it being Spring time it seems fitting that we get to join Bizzy Bear as he gets jobs done in his garden, something most of us adults can relate to, and with this book introducing little ones to all things garden related it could be the perfect book to share before joining one another in your gardens. With Bizzy completing things that include raking over soil and then sowing seeds into the freshly prepared ground before watering them using his watering can these are things we mirror in the real world, and also things little ones will love to do too. My nephew has recently started enjoying planting seeds in pots with his mum and dad, and then they go into his very own little greenhouse, so the next step for him would be to help with those activities in his garden at home, and I will enjoy including him in my gardening too.
Bizzy Bear also prunes the flowers, and clears the weeds, and then the book concludes with him being able to see the seeds have fully grown into beautiful flowers. The relevant actions taking place inside the book are achieved with the help of little ones interacting with the book, using the sliders, and it is fun when you get to see Bizzy Bear’s shovel or rake move, and the flowers bloom from no where too. All of this envelops the rhyming sentences that beautifully depict Bizzy Bear’s time in his garden, and add an additional fun feel to reading this book, and with being able to interact with the book to see progress being made children are going to absolutely love this book, along with the rest of the series too.
Pip and Posy : At the Park
With the weather improving and trips to the park becoming a must for those of us with little ones to entertain this new addition to the Pip and Posy series is perfectly timed, and with Axel’s iconic illustrations throughout the book it is perfect in more way then one! We accompany Pip as he ventures through the park searching for Posy, and each place he looks is behind a felt flap shaped like something you would find at the park, and that children would recognise, and they definitely loving interacting with the flaps to find out who or what is behind each of them. Along Pip’s route through the park he finds a butterfly, a bee, a pigeon, and even a sleeping baby!
The conclusion of the book, and Pip’s search, is beautiful, and will definitely put a smile on little ones faces, and then you find yourself starting the book over again as you take in more of the detail in the illustrations such as the stunning landscapes that vary as Pip goes to different parts of the park, and all the while you feel as though you’ve been transported to the park with him and you are searching for Posy too. This book is going to delight fans of Pip and Posy and also makes the perfect title to introduce the pair to your little ones with.
Pip and Posy : At the Party
This new title in the series is based at a party that Pip and Posy are attending. Posy goes around the event looking for Pip, and little ones will love looking behind the felt flaps to see if Posy has found Pip or whether she has found something else instead. The felt flaps are shaped like things you would come across when wandering around a party at a house, and these will be recognised by little ones too. With little ones being invited to parties this book depicts all the things they can expect at a party round a friends, but equally this book would be perfect as a gift to a child on their birthday too.
There will never be a moment when my face doesn’t light up as a result of seeing illustrations by Axel Scheffler, and this series has become a firm favourite of mine, which I have enjoyed with the little people in my family, and thinking fondly of the illustrations from The Gruffalo that I pored over with my children over a decade ago. The scenes illustrated within the book are those of inside a house and also in the garden, where Posy does eventually find Pip, and young children will be able to recognise things depicted in the eye catching pictures that make every individual page a work of art, which is my overall opinion of this series as a whole, which I’m sure will be cherished by little ones and their families, and passed down to grandchildren further on too.
Spring ABC
Another beautiful title to enjoy this season is Jannie Ho’s Spring ABC, which features an entire alphabet of Spring themed items to introduce little ones to, including animals, insects, flowers, nature, and items used or seen this time of year. With each page having a pastel colour ground you can see the referenced item pop on the page, with the animals and insects portrayed in a cute and cuddly style, and scenes that feature, such as the picnic, looking incredibly inviting.
The letter of the alphabet on each page is displayed in both capital and lowercase, and the variety of examples used throughout the a-z in this book keeps you engaged in the book, looking to see what else is included, and loving the illustrations that bring the different examples to life. This book would be so fun to use as a 26 things to spot during Spring challenge, which little ones will delight in completing, and as children begin to write letters and then words this book would be a great tool to encourage the letter shapes for practicing and handwriting, and then alternative words could be created by little ones for each letter too. The possibilities for this book with little ones are numerous, and all the while fun will be had.
Tummy Time : Farm
As the cover of this book states, this is a board book that unfolds to reveal a farm landscape with all the animals and outbuildings, and then on the opposite side there are individual animal illustrations so that little ones can learn the different farm animals and then look for them on the farm scene. There is also a mirror at the very end so little ones can be included, literally, in the book, and I’ve found mirrors in board books are incredibly popular with little ones. The smiles created as a result are priceless.
The illustrations have a traditional feel to them, and depict everything you would find on a trip to a farm, including a tractor, beautifully. I love the illustrative style in this book so much, and I hope that I can share more books by Louise Lockhart in the coming months as the wholesome vibes from this book are everything, and I look forward to sharing this book with my nephew, who has had his first visit to a farm only last week for his birthday, and I will be interested to see what he recognises, and also what he will be eager to look for next time he visits the local farm we have nearby.
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