Yesterday was a very special day:  it was my eldest nephew Thor Adam’s very first birthday party!  I didn’t think I’d be so excited about having a one-year-old nephew; but I apparently underestimated the power of my uterus.  Yes, I’m blaming my lady bits for my manic obsession with the babies I’m related to.

But back to the subject – my eldest nephew has turned a year old, and I needed to get him a present.  So I got him a book.

What?  Of course I got him a book.  I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to turn anyone on to books.  And the way I see it, it’s better to start them off young.

So yeah, I got him a book.  But knowing very well that he can’t actually read yet, I went for a book that has the potential to turn him on to the CONCEPT of books.

Which is why I got him this:

My adorable nephew may not know how to read yet, but I know for a fact that he likes feeling things up (okay, that sounded wrong – but you know what I mean!); under those circumstances, I thought that a book with lots of different textures has the best chance of  catching his attention.

I was right, by the way.

After his pre-party bath, he was handed over to me for some looking after (I should note right here that Thor only allowed it because he was too sleepy to realize that I was not his Mommy or Daddy; that darling boy can be fussy).  Using that as an opportunity to try out the book, I let him have a look (and a touch).

I discovered two things.  First:  it’s obvious that he likes the sheep page best.

Second, it was pretty hard getting a picture of the actual event taking place when you’re holding a toddler steady on your lap with one hand while helping him turn the pages with another.  But since I was having so much fun watching him pull fake duckling feathers and tug at faux sheep wool, I couldn’t care less that we didn’t get pictures for posterity.

I’m hoping that his apparent interest in this book continues – because it’s a great first step towards making him a reader.  With all the awesome stuff you can get out of books, I really think helping kids love them is a great way to approach early education.

With this being an apparent success, I’m already thinking about the book I’m going to get for my OTHER nephew, Salmo Joel.  From what I can see, he likes sounds AND lights.

…do any of you guys know of of baby-friendly books that have either or both of those?

EDIT:  Thor’s mother reports that Thor loves the Farm book enough to stop fussing when it’s handed to him.  VICTORY! 🙂