Tickle, Tickle (Oxenbury Board Books)

My three month old son LOVES to stare at this book. I believe it's never too soon to start reading to your child and Helen Oxenbury's books seem to be just the ticket. He concentrates on the pictures while I drag out the story. These are excellent, excellent books for very young babies! We also have All Fall Down and I'm going to order the other two now.

I am not a child development expert, so I cannot give the technical reasons why my kids become so engrossed in these books. I can say this: both my daughters have loved all the books in this series (including "All Fall Down", "Say Goodnight" and "Clap Hands") since they were infants. It could be the soft oversized illustrations of babies engaged in familiar activities. It could be Helen Oxenbury's gentle rhymes. We were first introduced to Helen Oxenbury's books when the newspaper ran a list of "Must Have" books for different age groups. "Tickle Tickle" was recommended for infants and toddlers, but my oldest (almost four) still takes them out and stares at the pages. She has now memorized the words and "reads" them to her younger sister. I highly recommend all the books in the series, especially "Tickle Tickle"--a perennial favorite around our house.

Her illustrations are so beautiful. The babies are simply adorable, and all the books in this series are fantastic. Simple phrases coupled with the colorful, down-to-earth pictures spark the imagination. I plan to search out more of her work right now!

My 6 year old daughter and I love this book. She has regularly checked it out from the public library for the past several years. We have to read it at least twice before bed. She anticipates the last page... and of course, we have to tickle!

My daughter is crazy for Oxenbury's babies. The illustrations and text are a perfect marriage for toddlers. They can relate to the simple, every day message Tickle, Tickle relates..."gently, gently brush your hair". My daughter's favorite part is "tickle, tickle under there" when she gets a HUGE tickle from her dad or me. a must read.