By Jennifer Maruno
Learning to read doesn’t begin at school, nor does it begin with the teaching of the alphabet. Learning to read begins with listening to stories, and listening to stories can never come too early in a child’s life. Their young brains are growing minute by minute. By 12 months, it has doubled in size. By two years of age, the synapses for language development are formed, and by three years, 85% of brain growth is complete. These years are the golden age of board books.
What exactly is a board book? Durable hardcover picture books with simple language, strong colourful pictures and stiff pages are generally defined as "board" books. The corners of the pages are often rounded. Pages are hard so that they can not be bitten off, causing choking hazards. These pages are covered with a safe matting that can be tasted because babies taste books like they taste everything else.
A simple board book should be part of a daily routine, putting little brains to work. Publishers generally classify them as having a text of no more than a hundred words, with fewer words being best, written in simple language that focuses on a single concept. So why isn’t everyone reading them to their babies?
Excuse #1 - Newborns spend most of the first months sleeping and eating, not listening.
Infants do sleep a lot, which is why it is important to take advantage of the times that they are awake and alert. No matter what position an infant is in, it is not the written words of a story that are understood; it is the soothing rhythm of the adult voice. Infants are discovering sound. Their understanding of rhythmic sound and patterns of language sows the seeds for story appreciation. Best books to read for this are Lullabies and Songs.
Good Night, Good Night by Dennis Lee and Qin Leng (HarperCollins Canada)
Never Let You Go by Patricia Storms (Scholastic Canada)
The Night is Deep and Wide by Gillian Sze and Sue Todd (Orca Book Publishers)
Sing a Song of Bedtime by Barbara Reid (Scholastic Canada)
We Sang You Home by Richard Van Camp and Julie Flett (Orca Book Publishers)
While You Sleep by Jennifer Maruno and Miki Sato (Pajama Press)
Excuse #2 - What's the point?
Reading these simple books to an infant, baby, or toddler is important to their personal development because it is a critical bonding activity. In the moments of hearing a story, the infant is receiving direct attention, feeling loved and safe. The basic human need of knowing you matter to someone is strengthened. They soon learn that their storybooks bring cuddles, warmth, and the soothing sound of a known voice. The best books to read are about Celebrating Baby Life.
Here Babies, There Babies by Nancy Cohen and Carmen Mok (Nimbus Publishing)
Kisses, Kisses, Baby-O by Sheree Fitch and Hilda Rose (Nimbus Publishing)
Little You by Ricard Van Camp and Julie Flett (Orca Book Publishers)
Love You Head to Toe by Ashley Barron (Owlkids Books)
My Heart Beats by Rina Singh (Orca Book Publishers)
Stay My Baby by Lana Button (Orca Book Publishers)
Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk and Alexandria Neonakis (Inhabit Media)
Toesy Toes by Sarah Yi-Mei Tsiang (Orca Book Publishers)
Welcome Baby by Barbara Reid (Scholastic Canada)
Excuse #3 - Babies can't pay attention and are distracted by everything.
Babies inspect your buttons, pull at your watch, and try to turn the pages when they are presented with a book. Patting, hitting and pushing at a board book is a baby’s way to see if it moves, makes a sound, or feels interesting like other toys. Sometimes they put their fingers in your mouth while you are reading. Even though they cannot sit still, their ears and eyes are working. For babies of any age, what is not known can create anxiety and fear. If everyday animals are part of their story world, they become less fearful when they encounter them in real life. The best books to read are about Understanding Animals.
Baby Beluga by Raffi and Ashley Wolf (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Big Bear Hug (Life in the Wild) by Nicholas Oldland (Kids Can Press)
The Cow Said Boo by Lana Button and Alice Carter (Pajama Press)
Dinos Driving by Lynn Leitch and Scot Ritchie (Pajama Press)
Dogs, Dogs, Dogs: I Love Them All by Chad Geran (POW! Kids Books)
Five Little Ducks by Raffi, Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Giraffe Meets Bird by Rebecca Bender (Pajama Press)
I Am a Beaver by Paul Covello (HarperCollins Publishers)
Touch and Feel Canadian Animals (First Steps) (Scholastic Canada)
Pup’s Supper by Victoria Miles and Andrea Z. Tachiera (Monterey Bay Aquarium)
Will Giraffe Laugh? by Hilary Leung (Scholastic Canada)
Excuse #4 – There’s no time for a bedtime story. Parents are just as tired as the child.
Storytime can take place at any time of day and still yield the same positive results. Parents should consider reading to a baby on a regular basis within their own schedule, such as at breakfast time, before a nap, in the bath, during a bus or subway ride, or at supper time. Sitting in a doctor’s office can be difficult, so having a few board books on hand helps with the wait. A board book provides the perfect distraction for a disgruntled baby. Refocusing the brain on observing is a good move on the part of the caregiver.
Predictable routines that are consistently reinforced help young children gain the confidence to act independently. Finding a recognized routine between the covers of a book is an exciting discovery. The best books to read now are about Daily Routines.
Bath Time by Eric Walters and Christine Battuz (Orca Book Publishers)
Good Night, Noah by Eric Walters and Eugenie Fernandes (Orca Book Publishers)
The Haircut by Theo Heras and Renné Benoit (Pajama Press)
Hat On, Hat, Off by Theo Heras and Reneé Benoit (Pajama Press)
On My Bike by Kari-Lynn Winters and Christina Leist (Tradewind Books, forthcoming December 2026)
On My Walk by Kari-Lynn Winters and Christina Leist (Tradewind Books, forthcoming December 2026)
Pants Off First by Ruth Ohi (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)
Red is Best by Kathy Stinson and Robin Baird Lewis (Annick Press)
Tummy Time Friends by Carol McDougall and Shanda LaRamee-Jones (Nimbus Publishing)
Upsy-Daisy, Baby! by Susan Hughes and Ashley Barron (Owlkids Books)
While You Sleep by Jennifer Maruno and Miki Sato (Pajama Press)
Excuse #5 - My baby is starting to talk; board books are too simple.
Toddlers usually put two words together just before or after their second birthday. These Talking Two’s vocabulary increases so rapidly, researchers refer to this as the “word spurt” stage. Adults are delighted by the number and kinds of words that they have digested and are able to use. Baby sentences are patterned like, “Mummy gone. Daddy car. Cookie me.”
The best books to share at this time are Wordless Board Books. Young children live in a world of wordless pictures, unable to read street, road or store signs. They have to determine what is going on around them every day without the use of symbols. These books invite them to “look and recognize” their illustrations while caregivers talk about the pages. Wordless board books promote two-word utterances by looking for the red button, yellow ribbon, or blue patch.
One Red Button by Marthe Jocelyn (Orca Book Publishers)
One Yellow Ribbon by Marthe Jocelyn (Orca Book Publishers)
One Patch of Blue by Marthe Jocelyn (Orca Book Publishers)
One Piece of String by Marthe Jocelyn (Orca Book Publishers)
People in our world can talk differently from one another. Books that represent the cultures and traditions that make up our Canadian mosaic need to be presented to children as early as possible. The best books to read are Learning About Our World.
Canada Fun by Paul Covello (HarperCollins Publishers)
Kiss by Kiss/Ocētôwina by Richard Van Camp (Orca Book Publishers)
Mi’kmaw Daily Drum by Alan Syliboy (Nimbus Publishing)
My Family, Your Family! by Kathryn Cole and Cornelia Li (Second Story Press)
My Heart Fills With Happiness by Monique Gray Smith and Julie Flett (Orca Book Publishers)
Nibi is Water/Nibi aawon nblish by Joanne Robertson, Shirley Williams, and Isadore Toulouse (Second Story Press)
Raven Squawk, Orca Squeak by Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd (Harbour Publishing)
Excuse #6 - My toddler knows all their board books. Aren’t they ready to read?
Due to this word spurt, many parents misconstrue this stage as the “ready to read” stage in their child’s life and want to introduce them to alphabet books. Most books in this category, however, overreach their purpose phonetically and make the mistake of misrepresenting sounds by using consonant blends like Fl - Flamingo for F. Sometimes the author stretches to make a point of having all letters of the alphabet comply with their theme. The best Alphabet Books to read are:
ABC of Canada by Kim Bellefontaine and Per-Henrik Gürth (Kids Can Press)
Everyday ABC by Paul Covello (HarperCollins Publisher)
Hockey ABC by Julien Chung (Scholastic Canada)
One of the best books to read about Learning New Words is Canada Fun by Paul Covello (HarperCollins Publishers).
The same applies to the expectations of mathematics. Counting is a rote memory skill and nothing more. When achieved, it is tempting to think that children are ready for formal mathematics, but the underlying concept of each number must still be developed. Board books with a counting theme simply develop the vocabulary for numbers, the awareness of numbers in the world, and a visual recognition of the symbols 0 to 9. Finding an interesting and fun way to do this is always a challenge for an author. The best Counting Books for this are:
After It Rains by Joanne Schwartz (Nimbus Publishing)
Anne’s Numbers by Kelly Hill (Penguin Random House)
Canada 123 by Paul Covello (HarperTrophy, Canada)
Halifax Harbour 123 by Yolanda Poplawska (Nimbus Publishing)
Nova Scotia 123 by Yolanda Poplawska (Nimbus Publishing)
The language landscape changes again when toddlers produce longer utterances and simple sentences. Listening to stories with a specific pattern results in stronger thinking skills. Young children’s outward responses to a story are not always immediate. It can be weeks before a personal connection to a story is revealed through a word, smile, gesture, or repeated phrase.
Infants, babies and toddlers learn that books tell us something. If they listen and concentrate, they will enjoy the experience. They learn books have right-to-left turn of pages and left-to-right and left-to-bottom sequences of print. The amount of verbal interaction during the first years of a child’s life greatly impacts their language
development.
Board books are not boring.
Jennifer Maruno has published eight novels of historical fiction for middle-grade and young-adult readers and five picture books. She is the recipient of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award (2026) and the Horace Mann Upstanders Award (2025). Her newest book What a Baby Can Do, first in the Babies Bloom series with Pajama Press, will debut in the fall of 2026. Needless to say, Jennifer loves babies!