Although there are many possible reasons for reading to babies and toddlers, several general responses immediately come to mind. Sharing books with young children can:

• Nurture a love of books and reading
• Provide sensory stimulation in support of brain development
• Develop language • Impart knowledge of the world and how it works
• Create a joyful and loving connection between babies/toddlers and their grownups.

Certainly these are some big tasks for such small books, tasks that require multiple readings of a wide array of books. Fortunately, the number and variety of board books available is substantial. The challenge is in selecting those that the young listeners will enjoy and the adult readers will happily share time and time again.

Board books, most fundamentally, are a format-specific subgenre of the traditional picture book. Consequently, they are subject to the same evaluative criteria used when considering the larger group, namely the quality of both the text and the illustrations as well as the successful interplay of the two. Board books, however, must also be appropriate for the very youngest child, whose visual acuity, verbal skills, and attention span are in various stages of development. While the target group varies in age by only about thirty-six months, their developmental levels are remarkably different from one end of the spectrum to the other and from one child to the next.

So what is the loving parent, the doting grandparent, the committed care provider to do when selecting board books to purchase and to share? I suggest considering and categorizing the options. Understanding and classifying the board book universe will help you provide a variety of reading and language experiences across the developmental spectrum that describes babies and toddlers.

The Text: Concepts or Stories

Textually board books divide naturally, if not always neatly, between those that contain some semblance of a story and those that support conceptual understanding. There are any number of board books that afford “point and say” opportunities for identifying colors, shapes, numbers, and other concepts. Lois Ehlert’s Color Zoo, originally published in a trade picture book edition and later reissued in board book format, supplies the young child with two conceptual experiences. Although the abstract depictions of the animals may not be obvious immediately, Ehlert’s unique exploration of colors and shapes provides the reader and the listener with a wealth of conversational opportunities. Mem Fox approaches animals from a narrative rather than conceptual perspective in Time for Bed. Her rhyming text introduces a variety of animal babies settling in for the night, culminating with a sleeping child receiving a mother’s wish for sweet dreams. Bill Martin Jr. finds the textual middle ground with both the trade and board book editions of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, which reinforces color concepts using language that is both patterned and narrative.

The Illustrations: Photos or Drawings

An important visual distinction among board books are those that feature drawings or paintings and those that are illustrated with photographs. For a young child, the jump from a real object to a visual representation of that object is often a shorter distance when the representation is photographic. Margaret Miller, cognizant of both the challenge of this visual jump and the fact that babies love looking at other babies, provides a visual explanation of emotional and sensory responses in Baby Faces. She pairs expressive photographic portraits with simple descriptions such as stinky, yucky, and yippee. Helen Oxenbury populates her books with babies and toddlers as well. Like Miller, she depicts children that are ethnically diverse and have expressive faces, although she draws rather than photographs her subjects. Originally published in 1987, Oxenbury’s quartet, which includes All Fall Down, Clap Hands, Say Goodnight, and Tickle Tickle, was reissued with revised covers in 1999. The series exemplifies a sensitivity to the daily realities of toddlerhood while extending a rhyming text with illustrative nuances.

The Mood: Soothing or Stimulating

Board books speak to the many moods of childhood. Through skillful use of text, illustrations, typography, color, and layout, board book creators establish a mood that can be enhanced with the proper delivery. Amy Hest has created an engaging but soothing bedtime tale in Kiss Good Night. After hearing a story, enjoying a glass of milk, and snuggling in with his stuff ed animal friends, Sam waits for his mother’s good night kiss and then drifts off to sleep. At the other end of the excitement continuum, Sandra Boynton provides lively, stimulating stories that call for boisterous readings and elicit wiggling responses with her books Barnyard Dance! and Moo, Baa, La La La!

Engaging the Senses: Texture or Manipulation

Young children learn much about the world through their senses. And while board books are made to be read, many also invite interactivity by providing textures to explore, flaps to lift, tabs to pull. Illustrator Emily Bolam combines bold colors with embossed textures in her Touch, Look, and Learn! books. The decision to use coated paper and embossed rather than furry or fluff y textures makes these books well-suited to public library collections. They are easily cleaned and thus stay fresh and inviting after lots of handling by lots of children. There are currently two titles in this conceptual series, Colors and Counting. Karen Katz has created a similarly well-designed series of lift-the flap books that stand up to enthusiastic use by multiple children. Her kewpie-doll toddlers can be found searching for their mothers (Where Is Baby’s Mommy?), their toys (Where Is Baby’s Beach Ball?), and even their body parts (Where Is Baby’s Belly Button?).

The Content: Familiar or Unexpected

For a young child just beginning to identify herself within the larger world context, seeing familiar events and routines represented between the covers of a book can be both reassuring and delightful. Mary Murphy depicts everyday toddler activities with the help of a penguin parent and child in her board book I Like It When…. The young listener and her grownup can play out the text as it is read by joining in when the penguins hold hands, play peek-a-boo, dance together, and kiss good night. Although initially unfamiliar to the young child, dinosaurs seem to hold some inherent fascination for kids of all ages. Byron Barton’s Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs offers an engaging but not-too-frightening introduction to these giant reptiles. His simple shapes, saturated colors, and understated text render the beasts less than terrifying even when they have “long sharp claws” and “long sharp teeth.” A side note: like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Color Zoo, and a number of other books mentioned here, Barton’s Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs was originally released in a trade edition and subsequently reissued in board book format. Not all trade picture books lend themselves to the board book transformation. In some cases the trim size is significantly, and unfortunately, smaller in the board book edition. Sometimes the details of the illustrations and even portions of the text are lost. However, a close examination of the copyright information should provide details on the publishing history and alert potential buyers to compare the board book with its original trade counterpart.

Putting It All Together

As you have probably discerned by now, the categories suggested above are by no means mutually exclusive. Board books can feature stories as well as concepts. Lilly’s Chocolate Heart by Kevin Henkes, for example, is a simple narrative tale that relies on prepositions of place (under, inside, behind, etc.) for its conceptual underpinnings. And depending upon the personalities of the young listener and your method of delivery, many board books can be stimulating, soothing, or both. Conversely, you may well find board books that expand the boundaries established by the categories listed here. For example, the illustrations in Tana Hoban’s White on Black and Black on White cannot be easily classified as either photographs or drawings. Hoban has used a photographic technique to produce bold silhouettes of familiar objects and lets those objects stand alone without benefit of any explanatory or identifying text. The categories, then, are simply tools to help you understand the board book world. Hopefully, they will assist you as you provide babies and toddlers with a wide variety of literary experiences—experiences that will nurture a love of books and reading, provide sensory stimulation, aid in developing vocabulary and an understanding of the world while creating a joyful connection between the young listener and his grownup.

Good Board Books
Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs (HarperFestival, 1994) by Byron Barton
Colors (Tiger Tales, 2009) by Emily Bolam
Counting (Tiger Tales, 2009) by Emily Bolam
Barnyard Dance! (Workman, 1993) by Sandra Boynton
Moo, Baa, La La La! (Little Simon, 1995) by Sandra Boynton
Color Zoo (HarperFestival, 1997) by Lois Ehlert
Time for Bed (Red Wagon, 1997) by Mem Fox; illus. by Jane Dyer
Lilly’s Chocolate Heart (Greenwillow/ HarperFestival, 2004) by Kevin Henkes
Kiss Good Night (Candlewick, 2004) by Amy Hest; illus. by Anita Jeram
Black on White (Greenwillow, 1993) by Tana Hoban
White on Black (Greenwillow, 1993) by Tana Hoban
Where Is Baby’s Beach Ball? (Little Simon, 2009) by Karen Katz
Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? (Little Simon, 2009) by Karen Katz
Where Is Baby’s Mommy? (Little Simon, 2009) by Karen Katz
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Holt, 2006) by Bill Martin Jr.; illus. by Eric Carle
Baby Faces (Little Simon, 2009) by Margaret Miller
I Like It When… (Red Wagon, 2005) by Mary Murphy
All Fall Down (Little Simon, 1999; Walker Books, 2009) by Helen Oxenbury
Clap Hands (Little Simon, 1999; Walker Books, 2009) by Helen Oxenbury
Say Goodnight (Little Simon, 1999; Walker Books, 2009) by Helen Oxenbury
Tickle, Tickle (Little Simon, 1999; Walker Books, 2009) by Helen Oxenbury

The post What Makes a Good Board Book? appeared first on The Horn Book.

ROGER SUTTON: So, Madam Ambassador, what does your reign have in store for us?

KATHERINE PATERSON: I woke up one morning and realized that what I wanted to say to everyone—children, young people, adults—was: Read for your life. Reading has made such a profound difference to my life. I’m sure I became a writer because of the power of literature in my own life. It began when I was an infant and our mother read to us in our tiny Chinese house in Huai’an. We book people are always preaching about reading aloud to children, but unless you do, you can’t realize how it enriches family life. Teachers have almost stopped reading aloud to their classes because of the pressure of testing and tight curricula, but it is the books we read together and talk about together that bring us closer together. We are able, then, to have a common language with which to discuss difficult subjects. We can read the paper or current magazines and learn about national and world events, think about controversial subjects, learn how to disagree respectfully, and how, finally, to act on our convictions. We can read for pure delight, and if we do this as a family or classroom or other group we can build wonderful memories.

RS: Why do you think the position of Ambassador is a necessary one?

KP: According to the website, and I quote: “The position of National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature was created to raise national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education, and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.” I think that sums up the mission quite well. As much pleasure as young people get from Twittering and texting, there is no way these activities will nourish their minds and spirits the way literature can. More than fifty years ago Sputnik dramatically raised the nation’s awareness of what was lacking in science and math education in this country. What we need to wake people up to now is the crisis in imagination and concern for the greater good. We have no idea what the next ten years, much less the next fifty years, will demand of the coming generation. What we do know is that unless we have a people prepared and eager to meet those crises creatively and compassionately, there is not much hope for this poor old planet of ours.

RS: One great thing about Jon and you as ambassadors is your knowledge and appreciation of children’s books beyond your own. What does being part of the children’s book community mean to you?

KP: My children never knew me before I became a writer. They knew me before I was a successfully published writer, but starting in 1978, when Bridge to Terabithia won the Newbery, they became not just book lovers but a part of the children’s book community. When John, Jr., joined the working world and saw how it operated, he said to me: “I guess you know, Mom, that you work with the best people in the world.” And I do know it. The children’s book world has given me wonderful friendships and an unbelievably rich life. For more than twenty years I have been a part of Children’s Literature New England, where children’s books are read and talked about at a level that stretches the intellect and renews the spirit. I am also vice president of the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, a group of authors and illustrators who have banded together to make issues related to young people’s literature, literacy, and libraries a priority for our nation. When I was asked to consider becoming the new children’s ambassador, it struck me that that was exactly what I and my colleagues in the NCBLA have been seeking to do for the last twelve years, so I was thrilled at the opportunity. Internationally, I have been active in the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) and its local section, USBBY. IBBY has widened my children’s book community to include friends and colleagues in nearly eighty countries.

RS: How does a writer balance the need for community (and, in the case of the ambassadorship, public service) and the need for solitude?

KP: Balance? Who balances? But I do know that I need solitude, not only to write but to nourish myself (being, like most writers, an introvert) so that I do keep trying to write. You may have noticed that the space between books has gotten longer and longer the last few years.

RS: The last time I interviewed you was in the summer of 2001, just before 9/11. How can books help in scary times?

KP: After what I remember as an idyllic nearly five years in Huai’an, the war between China and Japan began in earnest. My parents, siblings, and I were in the mountains on a rare vacation when the bombs began to fall, and we hid in dark rooms behind closed curtains or fled to shelter in the basement of a nearby church. Then we were eventually evacuated to Hong Kong where we were classic refugees, filthy from our long journey and carrying our few possessions. From there we came to the United States, where we fortunately had relatives kind enough to take all seven of us in until we were able to rent one apartment and then another. And we were, of course, considered very strange by our classmates in America. We went back to China—this time living in an occupied country where the only Japanese people I knew were soldiers with guns and bayonets—then evacuated once more to the U.S., where again we were alien and treated with derision and suspicion.

I’m sure my first nine years have had a powerful influence on the kind of books I write. After 9/11, someone asked me if I would write a book about that day, and I thought, Isn’t that what Bridge to Terabithia is about—sudden, unexpected terrible tragedy? I know when I went to schools that fall, I would read the part in the book that ends with Jesse thinking: “Sometimes it seemed to him that his life was delicate as a dandelion. One little puff from any direction, and it was blown away.” It was my oldest friend who pointed out to me that my newest book, The Day of the Pelican, reflects not only my childhood fears of war and powerlessness but the refugee experience of being despised and homeless. It is also the first time the actual 9/11 event has appeared in one of my books.

RS: Your allegiance to one editor, Virginia Buckley, is increasingly rare in children’s book publishing. What does working with one editor give you as a writer, and what do you count on from her the most?

KP: From her first letter, dated, as I recall, January of 1971, I could tell that Virginia respected what I was trying to do and wanted only for me to do it as well as I could. Whenever I read one of her letters in reply to a manuscript (and they still run to many pages) I get so excited about how I might be able to improve my book that I can hardly wait to get started on the revision. She has always given me total honesty and total support. I know there is no way I would be where I am today as a writer if it were not for her.

RS: What changes—whether cause for celebration or worry—in publishing are closest to your heart?

KP: Since my first novel was rescued from a slush pile, it makes me sad that most publishing houses no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts. Nor are many willing to take chances on novels that are not deemed immediately “marketable.” My first novel was set in twelfth-century Japan. If I were trying to start out as a writer today, who would be willing to take it on?

RS: Do you ever want to go crazy and write a vampire novel or bodice ripper?

KP: I don’t think I am capable of writing either of those. They take special skills I don’t possess. What I really want to do is to write a hilarious farce. The closest I’ve come to that is my couple of chapters in The Exquisite Corpse Adventure for the Library of Congress. That was great fun.

RS: And may you have as great fun with your ambassadoring! You’re going to do a wonderful job.

Five great books by Katherine Paterson

Yes, it was hard to pick just five titles from a distinguished career spanning more than thirty-five years, but the books listed below demonstrate that Katherine Paterson is equally adept in many genres. I left off Bridge to Terabithia on the assumption that you’ve already read it (and PS: it’s better than the movie).

Winner of a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Paterson and illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon, The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks, a retelling of a Japanese folktale, makes for a perfect picture book, its themes of honor and devotion woven tightly into the satisfying story.

First in a series of three (thus far) easy readers and illustrated by Jane Clark Brown, The Smallest Cow in the World introduces Marvin, a quintessential Paterson hero (stubborn and imaginative) and his contemporary farm family.

Something of a sequel to Paterson’s Lyddie, and winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, Jip is a classic story of an orphan in search of his roots, set in pre-Civil War Vermont. Surprises abound.

Perhaps the most uncharacteristic of Paterson’s novels, Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom is a dramatic and bloody panorama of a mid-nineteenth-century rebellion in China, complete with a secret society (Christians) and women warriors.

In the Newbery Medal-winning Jacob Have I Loved, Louise is terribly jealous of her minutes-younger twin Caroline, who seems favored by fortune and the family over Louise. The 1940s Chesapeake Bay setting is practically another character in this intense young adult novel.

— Roger Sutton

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