Since 2000, child development experts in the Pittsburgh area have created an annual list of the Best Books for Babies published in the previous year. This list is a wonderful resource for new parents who want to expose their babies to meaningful reading experiences, but some of us here at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh wanted to take this list and do more with it: something bigger and better to spread the message that babies need books from birth. Curated booklists are helpful, but they don’t quite drum up the same amount of enthusiasm as a super fun storytime. With balloons…and cake!!

So that’s why we decided to host the first Best Books for Babies Baby Book Shower at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Main. The event took place in May and welcomed caregivers and children ages birth through 18 months to come and participate in a storytime that featured books from the 2017 Best Books for Babies list. There were plenty of books for babies on display, songs, nursery rhymes, a game for the grownups and last, but definitely not least, a parade to the Children’s Room to enjoy some cake. We were also very pleased to give a copy of Sunrise, Moonrise to each family that attended.

It’s never too early to start reading to your baby, and we hope that the Best Books for Babies booklist in combination with future Baby Book Showers will continue to inspire caregivers to share books with their babies, whether they are newborns, learning to crawl or standing on tiptoe to grab their favorite board book on top of the shelf.

Check out this year’s Best Books for Babies booklist.

Korie is part of the Library’s Early Learning BLAST Outreach team. Her favorite children’s authors are Kevin Henkes and Audrey and Don Wood. She enjoys making sensory bottles, taking long walks through small neighborhoods and ‘80’s era fantasy films.