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Summer reading isn’t just for kids who can read. It’s for babies too.
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s annual Best Books for Babies list, in fact, is targeted at children aged birth to 18 months.
The selection committee, led by Lisa Dennis, coordinator of CLP’s children’s and teen collections and Erin Zambataro, coordinator of children’s services & family engagement for the library, includes experts in early literacy and child development. Among the panelists are a positive racial identity development expert, a published children’s author/illustrator and several parents.
“The committee selects the yearly titles based on the books’ ability to promote linguistic, social-emotional, cognitive and visual development for young learners,” says Dennis. All 12 books on the list were voted on and chosen from a selection of more than 100 books in a series of two- to three-hour meetings.
A previous member of the committee, Dr. Catalina Hoyos, a pediatrician who initiated Booksburgh — a UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh program designed to get patients reading — explained the importance of exposing children to literature early on.
“Babies are what we call our ‘earliest listeners’ … and books can also help them reach other milestones such as fine motor skills as they turn the pages,” Hoyos says.
Dr. Aisha White, director of the P.R.I.D.E. (Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education) Program at the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Child Development, has served on the committee for the past three years.
“I’m particularly looking for books that portray diverse babies from different backgrounds and illustrations that look like the populations portrayed, not necessarily just skin color, but specific facial features,” White says.
Here is the list of books:
“Pop a Pancake!” is a rhyming book on the list. Photo courtesy of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
The committee additionally offers tips for parents reading to their babies:
Carnegie Library also offers programming for parents and their young children including in-person and virtual storytimes at locations across the city. These opportunities are not only prime for educational development, but also social development.
On Saturday, July 23, the library will team up with the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank to host a Best Books for Babies Diaper Distribution at the Hill District branch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Families and caregivers with children aged birth through 18 months will receive a 2022 Best Books for Babies book bundle and two packages of diapers (sizes 0-3).
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Yoori Kim is an aspiring journalist currently in her third year studying Professional Writing at Carnegie Mellon University. She is interning for NEXTpittsburgh for the summer and is excited to explore more of Pittsburgh.