We’re delighted that Anna Vincent who had seven months ago, has agreed to share her daughter Cecilia’s enjoyment of books with Lovemybooks and also to share some of her thoughts on the picturebooks they are reading together.
Anna first sent her reflections to us when Ceclia was 5 months old. Now she is 7.5 months old and Anna has updated her account.
Cecelia aged 5 months
My daughter Cecilia is five months old, and, although we have been reading to her since she was born, she has really started taking notice of books lately and seems increasingly to want to interact with them. Initially this meant they made their way inexorably towards her mouth, but in the last few days she has also begun holding them almost as a grown-up might and even attempts to turn the pages (with a little help!). She also loves to reach out and touch the words and illustrations on the page, and seems to be developing favourite images and parts of the books we read. For my part, I do my best to make the stories come to life by doing the silliest voices and faces that I can! Sometimes I’ll read to her while she’s lying down so that she can see my face, other times I’ll lie next to her and hold the book up for us both to see, and now that she’s a bit sturdier, I also like to put her on my lap so we can read sitting up. Reading together is a daily joy for me and, I think for her too. It’s wonderful revisiting my own childhood favourites with her, and watching as she discovers those worlds and characters for herself. I can almost see the connections being made in her brain, and the magic being woven there by these timeless tales.
Update at 7.5 months old:
In the last two-and-a-half months, Cecilia has changed so much. For a start, she’s now much more mobile (although thankfully not yet crawling!) and has more or less mastered sitting up unsupported in the last couple of weeks. She also loves to reach out and interact with the world a lot more – scratching and feeling textures, responding to colours and sounds, grabbing things and bringing them towards her for a closer look.
Additionally, she has started to experiment with her voice, adding some very nice sounds to her ‘vocabulary’, often seeming to try and imitate us. This is especially apparent when we’re talking as she starts trying to join in by babbling.
It’s all great fun and has really taken our reading adventures to new levels.
Now when we read, Cecilia can hold the book, turn pages, and really interact with the story. If I have a pile of books next to us, she sometimes even selects the one she wants. Often, she’ll choose to turn back a page, as if she wants to spend more time on it. She also seems to respond more to repetitive phrases and, I think, recognises some of the key lines in the books we read.
All in all, reading has become a far more interactive and enjoyable experience in these last two months for both of us. In fact, I think I even sense her frustration if a day goes by and we haven’t looked at a book yet – she seems to tire of toys quite quickly, but she always has time for a book. Of course, she still likes to bite everything, just to make sure, and with three teeth now, she can unfortunately do some damage, so reading does need to be supervised.
She really watches our faces when we read to her, and often coos and babbles when we say certain lines or repetitive refrains. She bounces up and down on her bottom when she’s excited or enjoying a story, and occasionally likes to take the book from us and take control of the story herself!
I’m so excited to see how our reading adventures develop in the coming months, but I’m also just enjoying the moment and relishing seeing how she changes and learns each day.
Where’s Spot? – Eric Hill
This is a book I remember fondly from my own childhood and I was very excited to open the pages again and rediscover who was under each flap as Sally the Dog searches for her puppy Spot. I think I even remember my favourite pages from those early days (pink piano with a hippo inside, anyone?) and I’m interested to see if Cecilia ends up liking the same ones. This book works best for us at the moment when I sit her on my lap with her back to me and we both turn the pages. I’ve had to occasionally loosen her vice-like grip on the paper flaps, and we have an unspoken rule for now that Mummy will life the flaps and Cecilia can point to what’s underneath! Cecilia seems to enjoy it when I do an exaggerated voice for each animal as they are revealed, and I often take the opportunity to tell her the name of the animal behind the flap and describe what they’re doing or what kind of character they might have. I also like to make a creaking sound as the cupboard door, chest or clock case opens, just to add to the realism! This edition of the book came with a very sweet Spot the Dog soft toy which is the perfect size for little hands, and which we occasionally use to expand upon the book and hide and seek Spot in the real world. I also love the tenderness between Sally and Spot, and find it very touching when I look at my own little puppy.
Update at 7.5 months old:
‘Where’s Spot’ is still a real favourite for both of us, and we love using the little soft toy to make Spot quite literally leap off the page. Now that Cecilia is more dexterous, she can lift the flaps, but we do have to remind her to be gentle!
It’s a Little Baby – Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb
This book is new to me so Cecilia and I were able to discover it together which was really nice. Taking the form of a sweet song – which you can listen to by scanning a QR code on the back of the book – each page shows a different scene with a little baby hiding somewhere. Upon lifting the flap and revealing our tiny protagonists, we see that they are variously pointing, waving, dancing, clapping or peeping at us, and we are encouraged to join in. The first time we read it, I had Cecilia on my lap so we were both looking at the book, and the first thing I noticed was how interested she was in the pictures; especially the guinea pig eating a lettuce – she wouldn’t let me turn that page for quite some time! The illustrations are so lovely and full of life, and as she gets older, I can see us enjoying looking at each page and taking note of all the details before we move on. The song has lots of repetition in it which I think will really help to cement it in her mind as she gets to know it (it’s already on permanent rotation in my head!). I realised after the first read-through that it makes more sense if I read it facing her so she can see my face and hands, as there are lots of lovely gestures to go with the words of the song, so we’ve been doing both. At the moment she’s too young to join in with the gestures, but I’m looking forward to the day when she tries to copy me!
Update at 7.5 months old:
Cecilia seems to enjoy the repetition in this book, and now that she can sit up unsupported, I’m able to face her as we read and show her the movements and gestures in the book, which really unlocks its full potential. We also like listening to the accompanying song, as she loves music too.
Dear Zoo – Rod Campbell
Another favourite from my own childhood, I remember vividly being obsessed with the bright colours of this book, and being excited to see what animal was under each flap. I also remember this being one of the most popular books in the classroom and there were often tussles over who got to read it next! This is a ‘touch and feel’ edition of the book, so each of the animals has a sensory texture to interact with which is really lovely for little fingers to explore, especially at this age where the story is perhaps less of a focus and the images more so. I enjoyed naming and talking about each animal with Cecilia, and encouraging her to reach out and touch the book, feel the pages and turn to a page of her choice. Although the story is linear, it also works jumping from one page to another and I felt gave Cecilia a sense of independence during the reading experience. It’s a nice sturdy book so I felt able to let her have free rein during our reading session. We have two cats at home, so I’m looking forward to involving them in our Dear Zoo sessions at some point in the future, and seeing if Cecilia thinks they’d make a good addition to the book.
Update at 7.5 months old:
This book has really come into its own now that Cecilia is improving her dexterity and has become interested in textures. She loves reaching out with her fingers and touching the soft lion’s mane, and the sticky feet of the frog, and the flappy elephant ear. Where before I’d have to guide her hand to feel each texture, she now goes immediately for it, and likes to stay on each page for a while to play and feel.
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes – Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury
This beautifully illustrated book is new to me but it has been a delight to discover, and the sweet sentiment of the story – especially towards the end where the focus comes back to the author’s own baby – was enough to bring happy tears to this new mother’s eyes. The premise is that, no matter where he or she is born, every baby in the world has ten little fingers and ten little toes. As we progress through the book, we meet babies from very different backgrounds, with seemingly entirely different life experiences, but we are repeatedly reminded that all of them have something very simple yet very important in common. The illustrations are sweet and relatable, and babies and children of all backgrounds will be able to recognise themselves in these pages. The repetitive, song-like nature of the words make reading the book aloud a joy, and when Cecilia starts to talk, I can’t wait for her to start to predict the ending of each line. At the moment, I’m using the book as a chance to build suspense and anticipation as the repeated line approaches, as Cecilia loves it when I exaggerate and dramatise words. And we’re also enjoying looking at the pictures and talking about which baby looks like babies we know. As she grows up, I’ll also be able to use the book to help tell Cecilia the story of her own birth, which makes me feel very emotional.
Update at 7.5 months old:
This is the longest of the four books and now she’s a little older, Cecilia seems to have a slightly better attention span, so we can get through more of the book. I like to touch her fingers and toes when we read the key lines to help her understand that she’s like the babies in the book. We do have to supervise her when reading this one to avoid her being too rough with the pages, but she does seem to enjoy the illustrations and often wants to reach out and pat the babies!
By Anna Vincent
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