A Baby’s First Library: Inside the Books from Birth Collection
A baby does not have to understand a story to benefit from being read to. They are learning words, looking at shapes, feeling the pages, and bonding with the caregiver reading with them. The Books from Birth starter home library gives families a range of books that invite babies and caregivers to look, listen, and engage with each other.
Book Harvest's Books from Birth program collaborates with hospitals and health systems to send newborns home with a starter home library of 10 brand-new board books and resources. At Book Harvest, we believe literacy starts at birth, in the home, powered by parents and nourished with books. And these 10 books offer families the tools they need to get started.
The Books from Birth starter home library includes:
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Rainforest, Shapes
Smile / Sonrisa
Babies Around the World
¡Silencio! / Quiet!
Haz un Pastel / Pat-a-Cake
Baby Play
¡Mírame! / Look at Me!
Look, Touch, Learn: Sky
What makes the collection special isn't just the number of books. It's the variety of experiences packed inside each one.
A Baby Book Designed with Babies in Mind
One title in the collection offers an especially interesting look at just how intentionally books for the youngest readers can be designed.
Look, Touch, Learn: Sky is part of a series created by Child's Play 'to make tummy time more stimulating.' During development, Child's Play worked with Professor Anna Franklin, director of the Sussex Baby Lab, to incorporate research about how babies see and respond to the world around them.
The research influenced everything from color and contrast to shapes, textures and movement.
Because babies' color vision develops over their first months, the illustrations use carefully selected colors, with no more than three colors on a page. Simple forms, curved lines and nature-inspired patterns help create images that are accessible to young eyes. Textured surfaces add another layer for babies to explore with their fingers, while foil and moving elements reflect light and capture attention.
Even the illustrations are designed with shared interaction in mind. Close-up images are paired with larger scenes that give parents and caregivers something to point to, name and talk about with their baby.
Take a behind-the-scenes look at how Child's Play created the Look, Touch, Learn series
Families can sing and move along with Pat-a-Cake and Itsy Bitsy Spider. They can explore colors, shapes, animals and patterns in Shapes, Rainforest and Look, Touch, Learn: Sky. Books like Sonrisa, Baby Play and Look at Me! invite babies to notice faces, expressions and everyday interactions. And bilingual and globally focused titles create opportunities for families to share language, culture and the wider world from the very beginning: touch, sing, move, talk, and connect together.
Ten books are the beginning of a home library and ten invitations to spend a little more time together, one page, rhyme, and smile at a time.
Learn more about Book Harvest's Books from Birth program:
