The Best Books for Baby Playtime
and Development

{Photo by Hangdog}

It was surprising to me to realize that there were games and activities that you can do with your days-old newborn. Many times it's easy to assume that since your newborn mostly eats and sleeps, that he doesn't require the same amount of interaction as older children.

On the contrary, those early days of activities and games will help bond you together while at the same time stimulate and promote good development that she'll need later on. I have used many of these books, with much benefit.

Here are the activity books reviewed so far:

Slow and Steady Get Me Ready: 260 Weekly Developmental Activities from Birth to Age 5
What's Going On In There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life
Gymboree Play and Learn: 1001 Fun-Filled Activities For Your Baby and Child
Wonderplay: Games, Crafts, and Creative Activities for Infants and Toddlers
The Rookie Mom's Handbook: 250 Activities to Do With (and Without) Your Baby

If you have an activity book that was particularly helpful, share your review with me and I'll include it here for other mothers to enjoy.

Slow and Steady Get Me Ready
260 Weekly Developmental Activities From Birth to Age 5

Written by: June Oberlander

Slow and Steady Get Me Ready is a great activity resource that will be useful past the first 18 months. The activities use materials you have already around the house (with rare exceptions), and are age-appropriate.

June encourages you to do the activities in order, repeating them during the week to encourage developmental mastery of certain skills. If you have the time to invest in that highly-structured schedule, I'm sure it will be very beneficial. I chose to use the book as a go-to resource when I felt I wanted to work on a specific skill, or I needed a fun game for a rainy day. Either way, it's useful.

Are there areas where it could be improved?

Although the information is top-notch and it is well organized, the graphics and layout aren't as "eye-catching" as some of the other activity books. Illustrations are almost all hand-drawn. I'm a sucker for graphics, so I wished this book had a little more pizzazz. Over all though, in my opinion, the content far outstrips the lack of fancy-nancy graphics.

What's Going On In There?
How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life

Written by: Lise Eliot

What's Going on in There? is a fascinating book by a neuroscientist mother of three. It is a wonderful resource for mothers wanting to understand their baby's behavior.

I believe that with much understanding comes much patience. This book is a great way to give you more understanding about your baby's development, which will help you be more patient (especially in the two's and beyond). There's even a section dedicated to discussing your baby's development while still in the womb.

Are there areas where it could be improved?

This is written like a textbook, and so reads like one. If biology and science doesn't interest you, this may be a tough one to plow through.

Gymboree Play and Learn:
1001 Fun-Filled Activities For Your Baby and Child

Written by: Dr. Wendy Masi and Dr. Roni Cohen Leiderman

Gymboree Play and Learn is definitely on the top of my developmental activity book list. I love this book. It is fun to read through, with easy activities that only take a paragraph to explain! Like Slow and Steady it's a good investment, since it provides activities up to 5 years old. Numerous graphics and a soft color pallet make browsing enjoyable.

Are there areas where it could be improved?

In order to reach "1001 activities," it's inevitable that an occasional activity-dud should pop up. "Rock and sing your baby a lullaby" isn't necessarily a world-changing suggestion! Luckily, those dud-suggestions aren't too numerous. I toss those up as "marketing enforced" and skip right over them. There are enough unique activities for the book to still be a wise purchase.

Wonderplay:
Games, Crafts, and Creative Activities for Infants and Toddlers

Written by: Fretta Reitzes, Beth Teitelman, and Lois Mark

Wonderplay is more than just a "activity" book. It has ideas for outdoor adventures, tips for fun holidays, long car rides, and rainy days. Projects and crafts are arranged according to age, from birth to age three. It goes way beyond the usual living room activity stage and brings your baby into new environments for exploration.

Are there areas where it could be improved?

Sometimes it would take a while to remember the tune of the lullaby printed. An appendix with music would have been a helpful addition. The book heavily leans towards older infants, so if you're looking for a multitude of activities for your 0-6 month-old, another book may serve you better.

The Rookie Mom's Handbook
250 Activities to Do With (or Without) Your Baby

Written by: Whitney Moss and Heather Flett

The Rookie Mom's Handbook is a lot of fun to read and is chock-full of ideas for you to do with your baby. It's a favorite gift-giver. Not only does it give suggestions for baby-play, it offers good ideas on fun things you can do while your baby is sleeping.

I know, there are a zillion things you can do (and should) while your baby is sleeping, but these suggestions are for when you want to do something other than fold laundry clean the kitchen, and check email.

Are there areas where it could be improved?

The book seems to be geared strongly towards the stay at home mom. If you're a working mother, you can still benefit from it's suggestions, but trying them in the evening and weekend may be too exhausting.