Summary of Book
There's nothing better than laughing together! This book will have daddies and babies giggling the day away! Each page features a different baby with their daddy as they share time together giggling and laughing.  Oh, how fun! 

Before Reading
Take a picture walk through the book (turn the pages and talk about the pictures).  Ask questions like -What are they doing together?  Do they look happy or sad?  Do you think that they might be laughing?  As you ask these questions, you will be answering your own questions for your baby.  This is a great way to talk with your baby and allow them to hear the sounds of language.    

During Reading  
Laugh and giggle with your baby.  Ask the question: Can you giggle?  (Giggle for your baby after you ask the question.)  Say: Can you hear mommy/daddy giggle?  (Again, giggle!)  Encourage your child to giggle with you.

Continue to talk about each baby as you read each page, pointing out different things to your baby.  That baby is holding a ball - Ball!  You can talk about colors.  He's wearing a pretty red jacket.  See the red jacket?  Red!            

After Reading

• Act out "tickle time" which will cause your baby to laugh/giggle.
• Continue to talk about giggles.     
• Play hugs with daddy or hugs with mommy or hugs with grandma, etc.

Summary of Book
Actual photographs of children with their mommies and grandmommies in various poses of hugs and kisses.       

Before Reading
Take a picture walk through the book (turn the pages and talk about the pictures).  Ask questions like -What are they doing together?  Do they look happy or sad? Do you think the baby likes to give kisses?  As you ask these questions, you will be answering your own questions for your baby.  This is a great way to talk with your baby and allow them to hear the sounds of language.      

During Reading 
Kiss and hug your baby.  Ask the question: Can you give kisses?  (Give your baby kisses after you ask the question.)  Say: Can mommy/daddy give you kisses?  (Again, kiss your baby!)  Encourage your child to give kisses with you. Continue to talk about each baby as you read each page, pointing out different things to your baby about what you see on each page.

After Reading
Look at the page where the baby has food all over his/her face.  Talk about yummy foods and messy foods.  Use very descriptive words.  You could sing the song "This is the way we eat our    (grapes) , eat our (grapes) , eat our (grapes),  this is the way we eat our (grapes), so early in the evening." You can point our the child's body parts (nose, eyes, hands, hair, etc.) and sing: "Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes, Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes, Eyes and ears and mouth and nose, Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes."

Summary of Book 
This book has lots of simple pictures and high contrast of black and white pictures.  It is a good first book for babies.     

During Reading 
As you read the book to your child, point to the pictures as you say the words.  As you talk about the cat that stretches, also talk about how the cat is soft and furry, cat sounds like "meow," etc. For each object, describe to your child what it sounds, feels, smells, looks like, etc.

When you show your child the 1^st page, place their hands on the page and point to their hands as well as the page and label "hands."  You can also label other body parts, both on yourself and the child. As you read the book with your child, do the motions suggested in the book (hands reach, smile, stretch, etc.) and have your child do them also. Point out eyes, nose, smile, etc. on the sun, child, cat, fish and touch the same part on the child.       

After Reading
Have physical objects of the ones in the book to show your child as you re-read the pages (plastic car, stuffed animal, plant, etc.), and let your child explore the objects.

Summary of Book
The foundation of this book for young children is the well-known nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb."  The author follows the popular rhyme and then adds her own ending, which encourages children to be kind to animals.

Before Reading
If your child has a soft stuffed lamb,  play with it.  Talk about how it feels and what it looks like.

During Reading 
Talk about the pictures and tell your child about what the lamb is doing on each page.  Use lots of words to describe what is happening on each page.  Vary the tone and volume of your voice.

After Reading
Repeat the rhyme using the child's name.  You may also change the kind of animal and create your own rhyme to repeat with your child (ex. "Suzie had a little cat, its fur was soft and black," etc.)

Sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" with your child repeatedly after reading the book and pointing out illustrations. Try to change and make up your own song like "Mary had a hairy goat, Its fleece was black as coal, Of all the places Mary went, The goat would rather bowl," etc.  It doesn't matter if the words are silly - the sillier the better!

Summary of Book
This is a board book about Max's ride in his baby carriage as his sister Ruby watches and worries.  The focus is on opposites.        

Before Reading
Take a picture walk through the book (turn the pages and talk about the pictures).  Ask questions like -What are they doing together?  Do they look happy or sad?  As you ask these questions, you will be answering your own questions for your baby.  This is a great way to talk with your baby and allow them to hear the sounds of language.

During Reading   
Point out the pictures in the book and talk about what is going on as you read.  Pretend to be Max and use different tones of voice to say what he might be feeling.

After Reading

Use a small soft rabbit and a toy car as props.  Take Max the bunny for a ride around the room, or the house, or the yard.  Use these keywords so that he goes to new and exciting places on his travels:  Down up over under between into.  Also make sure to tell Max to Go! and Stop!

This simple verse is fun to act out with your child: Left to the window (point), Right to the door (point), Up to the ceiling (point), Down to the floor (point).

Summary of Book
Spot's visit with his dad at work on the farm turns into a fun day of looking for baby animals.               

Before Reading
Take a picture walk through the book (turn the pages and talk about the pictures).  Ask questions like: What are they doing?  What is this animal?   As you ask these questions, you will be answering your own questions for your baby.  This is a great way to talk with your baby and allow them to hear the sounds of language.         

During Reading 
Before showing the child  what type of baby animal is on each page (hidden behind the flaps), tell the child what animal makes the sound that is printed on that page.  (Example:  If the page has moo, ask A cow says moo?)  Open the flap and see the animal that is hiding.  Say, "There's the ____."  This could be done for every page.       

After Reading
Visit a farm or petting zoo to try and see animals that are in the book (pig, horse, duck, etc).

Visit a pet store to see baby animals such as puppies, kittens, etc.                                                   

Summary of Book
This book is a series of nursery rhymes such as: Jack and Jill Went up the Hill; Little Miss Muffet; and Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.    

Reading to Infants
Read this book often to your baby.  The rhythm and sounds of the rhyming words and colorful pictures will help your child develop a love for books and stories.  Sing the nursery rhymes and use different tones of voice as you say them.  All of these things will help your baby along the path to being a reader and writer.      

Summary of Book
Baby looks everywhere for its nose.  At the end of the book the baby looks into a mirror and finds its nose.      

Before Reading
Sing:  "Head, shoulders, toes and nose, toes and nose.  Head, shoulders, toes and nose, toes and nose.  Fingers, ears and eyes to close, Head, shoulders, toes and nose."  Sing as your child sits or lays on a blanket.  As you sing, touch each body part.    

During Reading 
Ask your child, "Can you see your fingers?" and touch his/her fingers.  "Can you see your toes?" and so on.   Then ask, "Where are my fingers, toes, eyes, and nose?"  and point them out to the baby.

After Reading
Sit with the baby on your lap.  Hold a hand mirror and show baby the parts of his face.

Play "Let's look for your nose"  Use words from the book:  "on the floor," "on the chair," "under the couch," "hold baby up high/down low?" add words like "behind, next to, in front of" as you say the words, move the baby to each place.

Summary of Book
Spot hasn't eaten his dinner! Follow Spot's mom, Sally, as she searches for the young puppy. Flaps on each page lift to show helpful characters, such as an alligator, hippo and a monkey, as they tell Sally "No, Spot is not there." The flaps help your child get involved in the search for Spot - is he under the bed? In the piano? Under the rug? Of course, in the end Sally finds Spot and he gets to eat his supper.  

Before Reading
Play "Peek-a-Boo" or "Where is Baby?" so that the child begins to understand the concept of looking for something hidden.

Let the child handle the book. If your child has a stuffed dog, let the child explore the stuffed animal.  Talk to the child about their five senses (How does your dog feel?  Ooh, that feels so soft.  How does this doggy look?  It looks friendly? He's also yellow with brown spots.  How does a doggy sound?  Woof Woof!  etc.).      

During Reading
Let your child help to lift the flaps on each page to help Sally find Spot.  As your child lifts the flap to show the animal, use that animal's "voice" to answer "No."

After Reading
Hide stuffed animals in similar places as the ones mentioned in the book: under the bed, in the closet, behind the door, and search for each animal with your child. Make sure to emphasize the concepts of "under," "behind," etc.

In the book, point out the mirror and tell the child what it is.  Then have a mirror for the child and talk to the child about what s/he sees.  What color the eyes are, if the hair is straight or curly, where the nose is, etc.