We’re delighted that Anna Vincent who has just had a baby, 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.
We very much look forward to hearing more from Anna soon.
November 2024
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Anna Vincent
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