B is for Books: Baby Shower Gift Edition

We LOVE books. Like a lot. Alicia and I can start talking about a book, and four hours and two bottles of wine later we'll still be going and realize we need to eat.

For my baby shower, instead of a card we asked guests to give the baby a book and to write a note of wishes inside. I highly recommend this, because now, two years later I will pick up a book to read to Archer and see that sweet note from a friend and get the warm loving feeling and I'll read it to Arch. Also, some of these friends have since moved or we've lost touch, but their little message to us keeps us connected. And of course we got a ton of great books out of it!

10 Great Baby Shower Books:

1. Love Your Forever, by Robert Munsch

This is a classic and it will make everyone cry. It will also make you want to call your mom. This is the one about a little boy growing up, but no matter how big he gets his mom will rock him and sing a little lullaby about him always being her baby, and gets you right in the gut about the circle of life and aging and all of that. This is no kid's favorite book, but it is so sweet and cherished by just about every mom.

2. The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein

This one is a great gift because there are lots of pages to write your letter to the new baby, and it's of course its beautiful book about giving! Its actually so great because its intergenerational, so there are lots of "ah, I remember reading that with my mom" or "I remember reading that to my child."

3. Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak

Where the Wild Things Are is beloved by both parents and kids. It's fun to read out loud, and it gives you hipster cred. It's also good inspiration for your note to the kid--you can tell them you hope they have wild adventures, you can remind them how important supper is, etc. I

4. Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam McBratney

Do you know what? I've really fallen in love with this book the more I read it to my son. It's an easy go-to for gift-giving purposes because the title says so much and there's cute bunnies. But as I look at my copy and see the note from my mom on the back, and then as I read it out loud to my son, the book gets so much right about the parent child bond and the silly boasts parents and children exchange.

Its also one that we read when he was just a baby, and can still read to him now as a toddler.

5. The House in the Night, by Susan Marie Swanson

I gave this to my sister at her baby shower. I was determined to give her something that was unique and magical and wasn't one of those that they'd get a million copies of at the baby shower. Its one of her favorites, and its one that I feel confident giving again. It will stand out as not hokey and yet has this poetic allure with a nice gentle read out loud rhythm. ALSO you need to use a gel pen to sign it, or use a gift sticker, to sign it. Don't tell me that's not fun.

6. All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon

This is the book I gave Alicia! I love the message of this book, which is really a poem: "all the world is all of us." It's beautifully able to connect big and little things, specific details and universal truths, and now my son repeats these lines when we read it. It's also got great illustrations, and isn't one that you see everywhere.

7. Binky, by Leslie Patricelli

You can give this book with a set of pacifiers and diapers and you are set--perfect gift. The Leslie Patricelli books are speaking directly to the kid, and they are a kid's absolute favorite. My little guy has "Yummy Yucky" by Leslie Patricelli memorized completely and its in near constant rotation in our house. These books are great for both infants and toddlers--infants like the simple drawing and bold lines, and toddlers love the little bald baby's antics and I think they relate to the bald baby's dilemma on a deeper level of their little souls.

Please add suggestions in the comments! There's at least a bajillion we missed.

#books #education