Baby Touch: Playbook
Publisher: Penguin Random House
This large board book that encourages little ones to play. It gently introduces a variety of concepts like textures, shapes and colours, which are loosely grouped into themes such as the sea, the sky and animals. It also features a range of tactile and interactive elements, such as embossing, cut-outs and a mirror.
Designed for very small children, this book doesn’t have a story but is more about introducing first concepts and using language that can stimulate play and exploration. Some of the text is purely descriptive (‘a colourful butterfly’), while some of it offers things to do (‘look’; ‘touch’; ‘feel’) or asks questions (‘who can you see?’; ‘who is hiding here?’). Some words appear in slightly larger font, helping both adults and little ones to know what to feel or look at e.g. ‘baby, feel the squishy fish’, or ‘look, a smiley snail’.
The illustrations are sweet, bright and colourful, and this book has a unique feel to it. A lovely book to look at together and chat about all the different shapes, objects and textures on each page, and although it’s called ‘Baby Touch’, toddlers will enjoy looking at it with you too.