I'm always looking for different blog post themes and thought a post with board books that use photography would be a fun one. Comment below with your favorites---I'd love to hear what they are.
1. May We Have Enough To Share by Richard Van Camp
A board book that celebrates thankfulness, the beauty of the world around us and those we love, May We Have Enough to Share reminds parents and little ones alike about the fullness of life's gifts.
2. Hands Can by Cheryl Willis Hudson
With mostly photographs of children in nature, Hands Can shows us the many different ways children can use their hands. "Hands can wave...hands can mold things...hands can plant seeds in a row...." A book that encourages creativity with its images of hands-on learning and one that crawlers and toddlers will enjoy as they mimic the book by clapping, reaching high and low, or waving good-bye.
3. Friends: True Stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships by Catherine Thimmesh
Written in rhyme, Friends: True Stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships is a very sweet board book about the meaning of friends. "A friend plays...a leap, a plop, and the game begins, a friend won't mind which one of them wins." The picture of the piglet and the lion cub is one of my favorites.
4. Tadpole to Frog by the American Museum of Natural History
Tadpole to Frog is such a great resource for kids. With just the right amount of description on each page for toddlers, Tadpole to Frog gives children a close-up look at tadpoles hatching and the developmental progression of the tadpole into a fully grown frog. I particularly like how the middle of the book provides a series of pictures side by side showing the changes of the tadpole into a frog. Other books with photographs in the American Museum of Natural History series include Our Solar System, Caterpillar to Butterfly, and Camouflage.
5. Shapes by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
I love noticing geometry in nature and Shapes gives us 19 beautiful spreads of different natural shapes. from the curve of a snake, the circle of a jellyfish ring, the triangle of a moth, or the coil of a blackbuck antelope, Shapes brings nature inside while also opening the possibilities of what shapes children might find right outside their door. Other books in the Picture This series include: Colors, Numbers, and Homes.
6. Wild Colors Of the West by Elaine Miller Bond
With one simple question: "What's your favorite color?" Wild Colors of the West invites children to think about warm and cold colors -- whether it's a sunny color, a deep color, an earthy-looking color, or maybe even a color that's hardly noticeable. With stunning photographs, Wild Colors of the West presents a gorgeous array of nature's color pallet.
7. Wings by Katrine Crow
For children who love guessing games, Wings presents little ones with a series of questions like "Who has clear wings like this? Who has wrinkled wings like this? or Who has patterned wings like this?" Other books in the Whose Is It series include: Ears, Noses, Feet, Tales, Bellies, Butts, and Horns. A fun series, especially for eager guessers.
8. Edible Numbers by Jennifer Vogel Bass
I remember finding Edible Colors when our son was a baby and thinking how great it was but decided to include Edible Numbers which I think is lesser known. With the same vibrant photographs as Edible Colors, Edible Numbers gives readers an exciting variety of labeled foods to explore and count.
9. Let's Find Momo: A Hide and Seek Board Book by Andrew Knapp
A big thanks to Montessori in Real Life for recommending this book---our almost two year old asks for it constantly. With a picture of Momo and three other items on the left side of each page, toddlers will have a blast trying to find Momo, a hat, a glove, or watering can, for example, on the opposite page. Other books in the Find Momo series include: Find Momo Cost to Cost, Find Momo Across Europe, and Find Momo: A Photography Book.
10. Watch Me Grow! by Flowerpot Press.
Watch Me Grow is a book of milestones. With pictures of a smiling three month old, a tummy-time six month old, a crawling nine month old, a standing 12 month old, a walking 15 month old, etc., Watch Me Grow is a great little companion for infants and toddlers or for toddler siblings with a new baby in the house. What milestone will the baby reach next?
Another big thanks to Montessori in Real Life for recommending this one, Making Faces: A First Book of Emotions is a mix of seek-and-find as well as an introduction to naming and recognizing those different emotions and their corresponding faces. From silly to surprised, angry or sad, babies and toddlers will love exploring these expressions for the first time as watching to see what kind of faces mommy or daddy come up with!
12. My First Body by DK
A book that our son actually really enjoyed when he was a baby, My First Body gives babies the vocabulary to identify the world around them from parts of the body, to clothing, to what hands and feet can do, to objects around the house, and counting. While many of the words are likely words that parents have already introduced, our son was always excited to look through the book and put his hand on his head, nose, mouth, and eyes as I pointed to the pictures and said the words. Other books in the DK series include: My First Colors, My First ABC, My First Number Book, My First Shapes, and My First Words.
13. Global Babies by Charlesbridge
A book that is exactly what it sounds like---a book of global babies! From Guatemala, Thailand, Greenland, Mali, the US, India, South Africa, or Fiji...Global Babies shows children the similarities of all babies from around the world.
14. First 100 Animals by Priddy Books
Another vocabulary-centered board book, First 100 Animals is full of nature's wildest as well as domestic animals. A great companion during a trip to the zoo, vacation, or farm, First 100 Animals is a snapshot of the animal kingdom.
15. Busy Chickens by John Schindel & Steven Holt
Last but not least Busy Chicken is a lovely book and the rhyming will really get little ones laughing with phrases like, "Chickens walking chickens squeaking. Chicken cheeping chicken leaping...." With other books in the series such as Busy Piggies, Busy Barnyard, and Busy Bunnies, author John Schindel and photographer Steven Holt have created a fun and engaging series for kids.
