My Family Book

© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.

Babies love books. Even before they can sit up, many babies will lie on their tummies and gaze at a propped-up book. But what really makes books special to babies is how you talk, cuddle, interact, and play together while reading.

Books that contain pictures of the people most important to babies, such as family and friends, can help them make the connection from home to school.

Make a family book for each baby.

• Ask families to supply photos of family members, friends, important events, and activities.
• Use small, sturdy photo albums to make books of babies’ favorite people and things.
• Let babies carry their family books around, hold them at naptime, or bring them to you when they miss a family member or need a hug.

When you “read” a baby’s family book together, name the people and talk about the events in the photos. Babies will get more out of each “reading” as their understanding of language grows and as you spend more time talking about each picture.

Give babies opportunities to take an active part in “reading” with you.

• They can turn the pages.
• They can point to things for you to talk about.
• They can add their own babbles to the story.

You may also want to extend the home/school connection by mounting family photos where adults and babies can look at them together or where babies can discover them as they crawl or move around.