Much as I try to avoid stereotypical ‘boy’ books, my sister, Clare, convinced me that the Child’s Play edition of Down by the Station (Classic Books With Holes) was worth a second glance as we perused the shelves of Borders one day.

I’m glad she did, as it is a favourite of Rowan’s and introduced me to a great series of books based on rhymes and songs.

We’ve since seen lots of the others in the series through our weekly classes with our fantastic music teacher, Rebecca. Rebecca always incorporates a rhyming or sung story into her classes, as well as giving the children some quiet time when they can read board books on their own.

We have since bought Over in the Meadow and Down in the Jungle, and there are lots more titles in this ‘Books with Holes’ series. There’s lots for Rowan to look at and grow with. At the moment he still loves sticking his fingers through the increasing number of holes in the pages, and there are sound effects and attractive colourful pages to keep him entertained. I have my eye on There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly and The Farmer in the Dell next…

There is nothing better than curling up in the sun with a good book and Ned loves it too. His favourite book of the moment is from a series by Dorling Kindersley called Peekaboo. We have Baby says Peekaboo and Peekaboo Playtime. They are photographic and have the most gorgeous babies in them as well as touchy feely bits and pieces. I had always been quite sceptical of these sorts of books because there are so many on the market and some are quite grainy and el cheapo, these are $14.95 each so not cheap but they are worth it. Ned now anticipates the PEEKABOO when you open the flaps and he even gets excited when I get the books out especially when we are somewhere that he doesn’t expect like the doctors surgery or the park. Peekaboo Baby has a mirror in the back which Ned adores and it now has copious amounts of dribble on it from where he tries to kiss himself, it is so much fun to watch.

TOP 5 BOOKS FOR BABY…

1. Where is the Green Sheep (Mem Fox and Judy Horacek) – Winner of the Children’s Book Council of Australia Early Childhood Picture Book 2005 Fox and Horacek have created a ‘cult classic’ for babies. The rhyming text is a joy to read aloud and the length is perfect for baby’s attention span. Judy Horaceks’ beautiful watercolour illustrations of these funny sheep doing crazy things mirror the text perfectly. Available in board book and hardcover.
2. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Bill Martin Jnr and Eric Carle) – Another all time classic based on rhythmic repetition with plenty of identifiable animals and colours. Babies can anticipate what is coming next and you can incorporate the noises of the animals as you go. Carle’s beautiful, bold collage illustrations that are so recognisable make this a must for every child’s bookshelf. Available in board book and paperback.
3. Moo, Baa, La La La (Sandra Boynton) – Sanda Boynton is one of my all time favourites. Her gorgeous style of illustration gives the characters so much personality and her text is always fun and whimsical which makes it great to read dramatically. These little board books are also perfect for little hands to hold and suck. Available in board book.
4. Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings (Matthew Van Fleet) – This is the best touchy feely book that has been published. Every page has a different animal, even fuzzy gray koalas, and each animal has a different texture to touch and feel. Van Fleet has created this book like a graphic designer with stark white pages that frame the illustration and simple bold black text, this look enhances the reading pleasure for little ones with surprises on every page. Available in hardcover.
5. I Went Walking (Sue Machin and Julie Vivas) – This is another all time favourite and another beautiful melding of rhythmic repetitious text plus the most amazing dreamy illustrations. A little boy goes for a walk on the farm and gathers up a menagerie of animals on the way. On each page there is a partial glimpse of the next animal adding to the anticipation. Available in board book and paperback.

One of the most beautiful books for this Christmas has just arrived in bookstores; Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer. If you own the previous Olivia books then you must have this for your collection. Olivia loves Christmas, she loves the traditions and she loves being busy; decorating the tree, helping mum (mom) with Christmas dinner, supervising the hanging of stockings and of course opening her presents. It’s very tiring being so helpful. The traditions that Olivia’s family celebrate are actually drawn from Falconer’s own childhood which makes this a very personal story. You will also notice that although Olivia wants to see Father Christmas she doesn’t get a chance and he is not illustrated in the book because none of us get to see the real Santa do we? Once again Falconer has created a divinely illustrated picture book and has breathed so much life into Olivia that she almost jumps of the pages, she is a clever, intelligent little character who appreciates art and culture. As she is certainly not a girly girl boys will also find her irresistible and I guarantee that parents will too.

Olivia is the funkiest pig in literature, if you haven’t met her yet than you are missing out. To read about Ian Falconer’s life at the New Yorker magazine and designing sets for the New York Ballet visit the beautiful website Olivia the Pig. You will giggle when Olivia walks across your computer screen dragging the cat; she truly is a feisty little piglet and one that your feisty little piglets will adore. The website has fantastic activities for children and you can even join her fan club – I did!

Last week I discovered a beautiful new bookstore in Coventry Street South Melbourne, it’s called naturally, Coventry Bookstore. I was with my beautiful friend Jenny and Ned (8 months) on our regular coffee jaunt, looking for a change of scenery we decided on trying Cafe Sweethearts. Our minds were made up by the review we both had read on the fantastic Breakfast Blog, what a fantastic idea to blog new brekkie places. If you love a good coffee and breakfast as much as I do you will LOVE this blog. Cafe Sweethearts was nice, good coffee and the staff were very accommodating of Ned and his Land Rover of a pram (great to walk with a three wheeler but not practical in shops or cafes).

Anyway back to the bookshop, it’s beautiful and just what I would want my shop to look like – when I will tatts. The collection is largely based around design, art and other beautiful things, the interior of the shop is gorgeous and light, designed by the people behind the Macro Wholefoods and Mimco stores, it is just such a joy to browse in. I was served by a man who I assume is the owner, he was so lovely and cheerful (no Bernard from Black Books here) which is a good reason to go back, how often do you get such great attention in retail these days?

The children’s section is amazing! Set in the back of the shop in its own little room you are immediately drawn to the bright fire engine red feature wall that is decorated with funky snowflake like graphics. The day I visited, Ned was fascinated by the colours and particularly by the Charlie and Lola umbrellas hanging from the roof. I really need to get one of those they are absolutely precious. They have the best board book section I have ever seen with ALL the Sandra Boynton books in stock, gee I love her and just about any other board book you could want. I picked up a great photographic word book for Ned called My Little Word Book, it is distributed by Pan Macmillan and has become one of Ned’s fav’s. He sits up in his pram and reads it when we go out . It is a great size and the photos are really clear and good quality. It was only $12.95 and a great investment for years of reading!!

Along with the books they also have a gorgeous selection of book related merchandise, I mentioned the Charlie and Lola umbrellas but they also have an amazing selection of cards, wrapping and toys, including the cutest little bobble head Noddy’s.

They also had a printed list of the Children’s Book Council of Australia award winners out on the display table and also a smattering of the books both winners and shortlisted. This isn’t something you see in the chains and I have often not even been able to be told the winners by staff at other shops. I truely believe that if you are after a beautiful children’s book you will find one here. A Gem!

While we were in Coventry Street we also popped into Nest, a divine home wares shop. They stock some lovely things; I bought Ned a pillow case screen printed by a Melbourne artist with Albi the elephant. It looks beautiful in Ned’s nursery as all his furniture is white, I think it is very special.