“Fantasy is very interesting to the older child, but only confusing to the very young. A rich foundation of stories about the real world is the best preparation for creative imagination. We should check that books present reality, since at this age children are trying to make sense of the environment and the life around them. There is nothing more extraordinary and interesting than our own daily life. Fantasy can come later- after reality has been experienced and absorbed.”- Dr. Montanaro
So Montessori friendly baby books have realistic images and don’t have fictional or fairy tales. I am not very strict about this and do have classics like Goodnight Moon in our library. Here are my top 10 favorites for the first year…
PS- I originally posted this on instagram and heard back from heaps of other Montessori mamas. Here are some other suggestions- ”The big book of beautiful babies” by David Ellwand, “The seasons series” by Gerda Muller, Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney series of boardbooks. Any more to add to the list?
Books that we have used:
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes padded board book
[…] Baby books and these black and white flash cards have been loved! […]