A is for Altar and Other Books for Baby

Baby J and I have been taking the "Babies and Books" class at the library. She's learned to clap, and I've learned that boys are COMPLETELY different from girls at every age. I didn't realize that at six months the boys would be throwing the toys and the girls would be eating them. I didn't know that boys and girls have different growth charts. (Our family physician doesn't do growth charts.) At 10-15 months, the boys are still throwing the shaker eggs at music time, but the girls are passing them out and collecting them again into the basket. I see future flight attendants. I always knew boys and girls are different. I guess I thought the differences really didn't kick in into toddler hood.


I've also been re-acquainted with baby books. Our copy of Pat the Bunny decayed years ago and none of our lift-the-flap books have any flaps left. All of the DK Touch and Feel books that Edmund loved are either tattered or lost.

So, Santa brought Baby J some new books. In addition to That's Not My Donkey, Santa picked up two boxed sets of board books at Costco.

I had been familiar with the humor of Sandra Boynton, since I worked in a library in high school. But I had forgotten about her silly books for small children until Babies and Books class. Now, we can read classics such as Moo, Baa, La La La! and Blue Hat, Green Hat at home. In Blue Hat, Green Hat, an elephant, a bear, and a moose are demonstrating where various clothing items go, and a turkey keeps getting it wrong. I love that turkey.



The Complete Karen Katz Collection includes four lift-the-flap books and four picture books. Her illustrations are charming, essential in a board book that I will have to read one thousand plus times.


While clearing some shelf space for all of Baby J's new books, I came across this treasure that was a gift from Nana and Papa a few years ago.


A is for Altar, B is for Bible does a wonderful job of naming the objects of the Mass for children as well as other nouns from the Church and the life of Christ. "X is at the end of Crucifix. I lay down my life for my sheep." I wish there were more books like this. Beautiful, approachable and true. We could use more literature like this for young Catholic children.