Mr J and I are avid readers and are hugely passionate about books (him crime thrillers, her romantic fiction & fantasy) so it was inevitable that little A was going to be a huge fan of books too. When Archie was a few months old, we started to incorporate book-reading into his nap and bedtime routine. We now usually read him 1-2 books (depending on tiredness) and it's something he really enjoys taking part in, the right kind of book can calm him down, or make him smile and want to play.

Archie has a tonne of books now which just seem to have appeared from nowhere, from books I loved as a child and passed down to him to charity shops and gifts from family & friends, but there are some he prefers more than others. Here's a few of A's favourites, why he likes them and recommendations for other babies in his age group (6-18 months-ish).

The Tales of Acorn Wood series by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

There are four books in the series, Fox's Socks, Hide'n'Seek Pig, Postman Bear and Rabbit's Nap, all of which A adores and of which are hidden flap books. Over time, he's become better & better at knowing where each of the flaps are and uncovering them as we read through the books. They also currently have some lovely limited edition versions out which I wish we had.

Ten Wriggly Wiggly Caterpillars by Debbie Tarbett

The story of what happens to 10 wriggly wiggly caterpillars and how they become beautiful butterflies. This is a numbers book so will be great for when we're starting to teach A how to count! All of the caterpillars are 3D so he loves touching them and enjoys the pop-up surprise at the end.

Each Peach Pear Plum & Peepo by Janet & Allan Ahlberg

One of the first books I bought Archie (before he had even vacated my tummy), Each Peach Pear Plum was one of my favourite books as a child and it's now one of Archie's favourites (amazing considering it has no pop-ups or flaps!). It's a rhyming story featuring a few fairytale characters and the reader is encouraged to find them hidden in the pages. Little A loves the surprise at the end where all of the characters are hiding and then appear on the last page. We also own Peepo! by the same authors which A also adores.

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

This is another one I had as a child and loved. There are a few different version but in this one, there are different animals hidden under the flaps. A loves uncovering the flaps and when we make the animal noises each time. We also have the 'Dear Santa' version which he loved us reading to him at Christmas, especially as it has a fluffy cat at the end that he used to keep running his fingers through.

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

I didn't realise how many versions of this book there are - the normal version (in large and in mini), the pop-up version, a counting version, so I think it's a pretty popular pick. We have the pop-up version (which is A's favourite) and the normal mini version which he likes to flick through whilst getting ready for bed (see image at beginning of post). It's such a cute story and I normally read this one last because the little hare falls asleep at the end and it makes little A nice and sleepy before bed.

Finding the time to even read Mummy's Heat and fast asleep on the occasion we don't even get the chance to read to him

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