Springtime and babies go hand in hand.  Here are some perfect books just for, and about, babies that the youngest little hands will enjoy looking at and having read to them.  These books are for ages zero through toddlers.  All are board books, except for the last book, helping to make the pages durable and easy to turn for tiny hands.

Vehicles ABC, by Jannie Ho, is part of a series with similar themes and bright pages to help one learn the alphabet.  This book, done digitally, has a different bright color for the background of every letter presented on each page.  The letters designate vehicles that begin with that letter.  Other books in this series include Halloween ABC and Christmas ABC.

First Steps: Trace and Learn 1 2 3,by Scholastic, is an interactive book enabling the toddler to trace each number (one per page) up to ten.  Each page features the number symbol as well as the number spelled out.  There are bright colors and small directional numbers showing the direction to trace.  There is a flap to open on each page to count the objects that correlate with the number.

This Little Piggy,by Jarvis, is a brightly illustrated book using pencil, hall and paint and then colored digitally.  Refurbishing this classic nursery rhyme opening each page demonstrates delightful piggies corresponding to the number.  The book begins, as the song does, with “One little piggy went to market.” Your youngster will want this read again and again, but you will most likely want to sing this familiar rhyming tale as well.

Dotty and Dash’s 1 2 3: A Pop-Up Counting Book,by Craig Shuttlewood, features a cute Dalmatian (Dot) and an adorable turtle (Dash) who go through the numbers all the way to 100 as they attempt to try and agree which number is the best.   The numbers pop-up through ten.  After ten, they pop-up on the tenth number, 20,30, 40, etc.  The colors are vibrant throughout making this book a great learning experience.

Let’s Build, brilliantly illustrated with pictures displayed with the open page by Zoe Waring, and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is a wonderfully interactive book that youngsters will become involved and immersed in.  There’s a construction work site building a new park and they need you to help in the project by asking you to: “Tilt, tap, shake, and clap to help the trucks get the job done.” Questions are asked throughout for specific participation. Great fun!

I Love Mozart: My First Sound Book,by Marion Billet, is a delightful smallish-sized book with the name of six classic compositions from the composer.  There is a small button found on each open page to push to hear a short memorial part of each piece.  The audible quality is excellent even though the book is small.  The book introduces children to one of the classic composers of his time.

Who’s Hiding in the Woods, by Katharine McEwen, features exuberant colorson each open page, wooded scene.  There are several open flaps on each of these seasonal scenes with the text asking which animals are hiding?  The pictures were done with an assortment of collages making the turn of each page eventful and delightful.  Be sure to check out Ms. McEwen’s other new book, Who’s Hiding in the River, featuring similar open page scenes with many flaps.  This book takes the reader through a day by the river and the animals found hiding there.

Scratchie:  A Touch-and-Feel Cat-venture, by Maria Putri, invites the reader to participate in touching the many different textures found inside this book.  Scratchie desires you to use your claws, like a cat, and begin scratching each touch-and-feel article on each page.  Some of these elements include a cardboard box, soft fur and grainy wood.

A Baby Like You, by Catherine Thimmesh, showcases through gorgeous photography, how baby animals mirror human babies in so many ways.  The simple text brings these similarities out through rhyme as well as informing one more about each animal found on each open page.  The photographs fill the page and include animals such as giraffes, koala bears and polar bears.

Accident!, by Andrea Tsurumi, was first published in 2017 but was recently made into an over-sized board book. This makes the open page scenes extra fun as you read through this quick-read story.  With few words on each page, what begins as a small accident turns into a domino effect as you witness the hilarious calamity taking place.  And it all began when a clueless armadillo knocks over a glass pitcher.  Every page is filled with many activities taking place making this a book to re-read repeatedly!

How Big is Our Baby? by Smriti Prasadam-Halls, and brightly illustrated by Brittany Teckentrup, is the perfect nine-month guide for children awaiting the arrival of their new baby sister or brother.  Each open page takes the family through the nine-month pregnancy month by month.  As the baby grows bigger in the womb, there is a relatable image to help youngsters imagine the size of the baby.  For instance, during the fourth month there is a picture of a pear relating to the size of the baby.  There is more information on the opposite side of the page about this stage of development.  (At this stage, the baby is growing eyebrows and hair.)  I think this book demonstrates the true miracle of this miraculous event!

No More Naps!, by Chris Grabenstein, and richly illustrated with much expression by Leo Espinosa, showcases a father pushing his little toddler in a stroller through the park to get her to take a nap.  But her defiance is exhausting as dad becomes more and more tired as he pushes her.  Not only that but everyone he passes desires to lay down and nap.  How she finally falls asleep is clever.  Be sure to check out the very clever end pages!  Warning – this book may put you to sleep.