Book Review

I have to start by saying that I have watched KJ read to her oldest son Sam. I saw her read the same book over and over for about 2 hours. She is amazing. If there is any person on this planet who could write this book, it would be her.

On to the review of Reading with Babies, Toddlers and Twos.

I really liked the book. I'm going to tell you all the stuff I liked and there was a lot, so forgive me. I liked the tone a lot. As a first time Mom you have so many questions and doubts. Am I doing this right? Will I screw my kid up? Will they make it into college? Will I have a smart kid? I think having this book when my first baby was born would have helped me feel better. I knew that you should talk and read as much as possible to your baby. I remember having my firstborn, N (now 4) lay on my chest as I read to her. KJ describes this and reassures us that we don't have to be reading "baby books" at this stage. She also gives lots of ideas for how to make reading more fun--even when you have a baby who doesn't like to sit still.

I really liked all the lists of books that were included. I really liked the quotes from other Moms too. I love the developmental charts. The book is easy to pick up, skim and learn something. I haven't read it cover to cover, but I've flipped through it about 10 or more times now. Each time I do, I flip to something interesting and read a few pages.

At one point, in an email or on her blog (can't find where now), KJ mentioned that chapter 8 was about television. I pretty much turned straight to that chapter to see what she said. I've spent a lot of time reading about the effects of television on children and babies and she summed it up perfectly in her book. No one has yet done the research on the effects of television on very young children (0-3), but there are a lot of programs made for this age group.

I'm of the belief that good quality educational television (think PBS, Dora, Blue's) is pretty much the same as a book especially when you sit with your child and co-view and discuss it afterwards. Someday someone will do the research on this and I believe that's what they'll find. (Feel free to quote me when they do.) If someone tells you that television causes ADHD if you let very young children watch it don't listen to them because they don't know what they are talking about. (If it does turn out that watching television at a young age causes ADHD, I'll eat my hat.) The guidelines and suggestions for television watching in her book are really good. The best I've seen thus far.

I know lots of people who are having babies and I will add this book to the list of books I give as shower presents.

(Some of the other ones I give include the Dr. Sears book, the healthy sleep book, and Sandra Boynton books... We LOVE her.)

KJ, thank you (and Susan too) for a great book!