June 17, 2008

Begin Smart Books

Begin Smart Books are a new series of books developed by children's author and publisher Harriet Ziefert. These books target emerging skills in newborns, infants and toddlers. As such, they are narrowly targeted. You buy books for 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, and 18-24 months.

"I decided to begin smart," says Ziefert. "I chose to learn everything I could about infant development and use 'the observed baby' as my starting off point. I did not begin with a list of skills, or a group of stories, or a particular character, or concepts to be learned. I began with the conviction that everything is new to a baby and the best books for babies are the ones that help them make sense of the complicated world around them."

These books include a list of skills that they're meant to develop, as well as parent notes which expand on the list of skills and also suggest different ways of reading the books. Anderson is probably too old for these books now, but the certainly sound like a great addition to anybody's nursery library!