Need a Good Book to Present with a Baby Shower Gift

Updated on November 08, 2007
M.M. asks from Brighton, MI
42 answers

Hello,
One of my dearest friends is expecting her first child at the age of 38. My children are ages 7 & 10 and it's been a while since I've purchased a book suitable for a new mommy. In lieu of a card, my friend is requesting a book from each of her guests. Can you please share any good books, titles, authors, where to purchase, etc.. with me. Thanks so much.
M. M.

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So What Happened?

I received plenty of wonderful suggestions. Thank you everyone!

Featured Answers

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J.B.

answers from Detroit on

Love You Forever by Robert Munsche. It is a book about a mother loving her baby forever, it is really really sweet, it brought me to tears. A friend of mine bought a copy for me because it was her favorite book and when I had my child she bought me that.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.B.

answers from Benton Harbor on

Nothing is better than "The Girlsfriends Guide to Pregnancy" by Vicky Iovine. There are a few more by the same author and they are all so funny!

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E.B.

answers from Grand Rapids on

I would recommend "Happiest Baby on the Block"
I don't remember who the author is, but I have heard wonderful things about it. Just typing the title in at Amazon.com, and I know that it will pop up.
The same author wrote "Happiest Toddler on the Block" which I have and love. It has really helped me with my three year old daughter.

E.

More Answers

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L.C.

answers from Lansing on

I loved receiving "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" Good book for a new trial!!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.L.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Pat the Bunny.....no question the best book that you will find.

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S.N.

answers from Saginaw on

There are loads of great books to choose from. But, I'm gonna have to say Pat The Bunny is the best choice. It uses simple actions to involve the baby in the story, and to stimulate a young mind. When this book is read to a very young baby, often, it is shocking how fast the child starts to understand the text.

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E.J.

answers from Benton Harbor on

Hi, I was wondering, is this a book for mom, or a book for baby?

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C.S.

answers from Detroit on

I do this for all baby showers, my all time favorite is I'll Love You Forever. You can get it at Walmart for a few dollars. Goodnight Moon is another really great book. If you want to go fun all of the Eric Carle books are great. What ever you choose I'm sure she'll love it.

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J.

answers from Detroit on

I loved the Baby Book by William Sears and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

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S.N.

answers from Saginaw on

I'm not a christian myself, but the Chicken Soup for the Mothers Soul books are really good, lots of heartlifting stories about mothers. Would make a great gift too.

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S.S.

answers from Grand Rapids on

I don't have the authors names to these books on me right now but 2 books that I recieved for my baby shower were, PAT THE BUNNY. My daughter is 18 months old now and still loves that book! Another one is LOVE YOU FOREVER. I actually read that to her when I was pregnant and she really likes that one! But her absolute favorite book, we read every single night before bed is GOD GAVE US YOU. I HAVE to read that to her every night. ANd its the sweetest book I think ever! I know we got the GOD GAVE US YOU book from Wal-Mart. And the other 2 you should be able to find at either Wal-Mart or any book store. If you have a hard time finding them let me know and I'll get the Authors names and see if I can help ya find them. =)

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K.R.

answers from Detroit on

Hi M.,

My baby shower had a similar book theme. The best one I got is one that we still reach for every night: "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown.

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C.

answers from Grand Rapids on

For one of my baby showers I got the book "Taking Care of Your Child" It's a guide to medical care. It has easy charts to follow to help you know when to call the doctor or which home remedies to use. The authors are Pantell, Fries and Vickery. We have used this book so much that it's wearing out

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K.V.

answers from Kalamazoo on

M.--

The entire series of books....What to Expect When You're Expecting, The First Year, and The Toddler Years are wonderful.

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A.S.

answers from Lansing on

Are you asking about parenting books etc or children's books?

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T.K.

answers from Detroit on

I am not sure if this will still help, but ...the book that will help many parents avoid “the terrible twos” is available!

As you may already know, I have created a series of books to assist in communicating with infants and toddlers in American Sign Language. These books are quick and fun to read, they teach accurate ASL signs, and kids will love opening the flaps! The best part - the back has them all as a quick reference guide, which is very handy for sitters and grandparents to interpret!

Learn to communicate with your child before they can talk!
"Everyday Signs for the Newborn Baby", due out November 2007, is now available for pre-orders on amazon search under isbn: ###-###-####.

Thank you and please tell your family and friends about
"Everyday Signs for the Newborn Baby" and visit www.inmotionbooks.com!
T. Kuza

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K.R.

answers from Detroit on

I'd like to second the Girlfriend's Guide Series. It's very funny as well as being informative.

And.. Fourth (or fifth, at this point?) the What to Expect Series.

Anything from those I think would be welcomed.

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L.S.

answers from Grand Rapids on

While I was pregnant I loved the pregnancy sucks book, but it's more for during the pregnancy. It's very similar to Belly laughs but not as much foul language. I also liked the Pregnancy bible. But since my daughter has come I like the what to expect the first years. But if you really what to help her suggest she joins momma source and cafemom.com they are both sites that I find more information from then most of the books I have checked out.

You could get her books to read to her baby. I really like Just In Case You Ever Wonder: By Max Lucado. It's a Christian book but very good. Any book by Max Lucado seam to be good. Hope this helps.

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K.C.

answers from Benton Harbor on

I know that I got some books at my baby showers. But I didn't get any board books. We had to buy those on our own. When they are little they want to touch every page and they would just tear regular book pages. My advice would be to get a good selection of board books or bath books.

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T.B.

answers from Detroit on

The book I recommend to all new mothers is the Portable Pediatrician by Laura Walther Nathanson. This book has taught me so much! It goes from before birth to five years old. It covers every thing about a child and what goes with it. Good Luck.

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D.R.

answers from Benton Harbor on

I think one of the best books you could give her is the "What to Expect the First Year"!!! All the books in that series are awesome!!! Not sure of the author's name!

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C.F.

answers from Detroit on

Hi M.,

Sounds like your friend is looking for books for her baby, and if that's the case, you can choose just about anything. However, if it's a book for new moms that you want, I would suggest "What to Expect the First Year" by Arlene Eisenberg. She also wrote "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and "What to Expect During the Toddler Years" - all wonderful books! And you can find her books just about anywhere - Target, Kmart, most bookstores, etc.

I hope this helps!

C.

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E.S.

answers from Detroit on

First of all, what a neat idea. That is a great way to get a lot of books! I don't know all of the author's names, but they are all great, and popular childrens books. I am sure you can get them anywhere....Target, Walmart, or any book store.

Some of my favorites are:

Goodnight Moon Bunny
Brown Bear, Brown Bear....by Eric Karle
The Very Hungry Catepillar...by Eric Karle
Pat the Bunny
I Love You Forever....absolutely my favorite!

Hope this helps!

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L.K.

answers from Detroit on

My mother-in-law gave me The Diaper Diaries: The Real Poop on a New Mom's First Year and I think it's awesome! You can pick it up on Amazon for $8.95. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Diaper-Diaries-Real-Poop-First/dp/0.... Best of luck!

L.

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A.I.

answers from Lansing on

my fav book that my daughter enjoy are the going to bed book by sandra boyton and bless me i am not sure who that one by i think it schoolastic book but anything by sandra boyton is a winner or there the all time fav the moon in my room well good luck hope you find the right book

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B.K.

answers from Detroit on

I'll Love you forever, not sure of the author. The book is adorable and is good for a baby all the way up until a young child.

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T.F.

answers from Detroit on

A good book that I have is called Feed Me I'm Yours by Vicki Lanski I think is how she spells her name. It's a cookbook for infants and toddlers. I know I wish I'd gotten a book like this before we found it last year. Another good one is Rory Stays safe for ages 3 and up. You can find it at safestory.com and also amazon.com. Good luck.

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K.A.

answers from Detroit on

My favorite is Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. My son really likes it too. It comes in paperback for about $5.oo at Target. It's such a sweet book that really pulls on your heartstrings.

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C.H.

answers from Grand Rapids on

If she knows what gender, Meijer's has books "Why a daughter needs a father" Or "Why a son needs a mother", etc. They are picture books with nice little sayings.

For the baby, I love "God Gave us you" and it has polar bears on the cover. My kids really like "Little Bird, Biddle Bird."

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C.L.

answers from Saginaw on

If you are looking for books for her-

The Baby Book- By Dr. Sears is a good book to get her through pregnancy and the childs first couple of years.

The Happiest Baby On the Block By Harvey Karp- Awesome for new mom's (Dvd might be same as book price or close Dvd might be better gift if she doesn't have time to read. I swear if I had seen that at the hospital I would have spent less nights sobbing because the baby wouldn't stop crying.

I personally hated the What to Expect when your expecting/The first year books- I prefered the Your baby week by week series. I thought they gave more info.

Another really funny book you could get her would be The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy and they might have another in the series after that book but it was absolutely great.

There are also Belly Laughs/Baby Laughs by Jenny McCarthy which were ridiculously funny ways of looking at things from a pregnancy and toddler raising point of view.

Children's authors (which is what I'm guessing they are looking for for the shower)-

Sandra Boynton is a great one for board books.
In fact, If you have a Kohl's close they currently have her books for $5 in paperback and you can get one of the plush characters for $5 as well.

My son also loves Eric Carle (The Hungry Caterpillar), Goodnight Moon, Moon in My Room, The Sleeping House, and any of the board books with the cutouts. He loves to watch them change places in the book or disappear.

A side note, I see some people have recommended "Love you Forever". If it is the same one I got, READ the book before you gift it and see how you feel about it. It may or may not be a good one to give for a newborn. I got a copy for Evan's 1st birthday and actually threw it away. I don't think that little kids need to worry about their Mommy's dying before they need to. The book would be fine for a child who has lost a loved one to help explain things and that they are still loved but myself personally, I don't feel it has a place in a toddler book shelf and I prefer to cross the whole dying thing when we have to/when he's going to understand whichever comes first.

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K.H.

answers from Detroit on

Hi M. my children are 9 and 6. Our favorite book since they were little is Just in Case you ever Wonder. It is by Max Lucado. This is the book I always give when going to a baby shower.

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C.B.

answers from Detroit on

'Goodnight Moon' & 'Guess How Much I Love You'-These are 2 great books.

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K.W.

answers from Detroit on

Well, I love Pat the Bunny and think it always makes a great gift.

But I'm assuming you want a special book that you can inscribe and maybe the child will save. If that's the case, I would recommend "Time for Bed." This book has beautiful illustrations and it's sweet -- all the animals are getting ready to go to sleep. A perfect bedtime story book.

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D.N.

answers from Detroit on

Any Dr. Seuss book, my daughter favors touch and feel books (can be found at toys r us, meijer, k-mart, walmart etc.) or Sassy (baby toy company) makes soft squishy plastic books (my little one liked to gnaw on it) one in particular was very nice you could put photos in it and it can be found with baby toys.

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H.T.

answers from Detroit on

In my experience, when books are requested in lieu of a card, they are to build the child's library. I really love the "Boyton" board books. I can't remember who the author is off hand, but there are several books, and they are very cute with adorable characters.

I also like to give classic books, such as Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, etc.

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C.S.

answers from Detroit on

Dr Seuss Oh, the Places You'll Go!

HUG Jez Alborough

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (wacky twist on classic fairy tales - very funny) Jon Scieszka

Good Night Gorilla Peggy Rathmann

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K.F.

answers from Detroit on

There are so many good books out there. My daughters favorites are

Tails by Matthew Van Fleet - It has a lot of textures to feel

Are You Ticklish? by Melanie Mitchell - Also has textures

What makes a rainbow by Betty Schwartz - This book teaches colors with ribbons on each page and when you are at the end of the book there is a ribbon rainbow. Very Cool!

Hope this helps! They will love any book you get though. Babies just like to hear the sound of their Mommy's voices.

K.

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N.G.

answers from Kalamazoo on

I Lover You Stinky Face!!! it's the BEST children's book EVER!!! all three of my kids love it! (they're 1, 2, 4) it's a great book!!! my 20 year old brother even loves to hear me read it... and as far as a book for her! I LOVE the book by "Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy!!!! it's the best!!! i needed the laugh about all the truths of pregnancy...it's simply amazing!!

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E.M.

answers from Detroit on

My daughter who is 18 months old really like the book calle " I love you all the time". You can find it at Barnes and Noble for like $5.

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N.T.

answers from Detroit on

I'm a huge fan of Sam McBratney's (Guess How Much I Love You) new book "I Love It When You Smile," it's about a grumpy little kangaroo and how his mother tries everything to make him smile. Also, anything by Eric Carle, or Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. You can get any of them at Target or any book store.

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A.W.

answers from Detroit on

There are SO MANY good ones! In terms of for the baby, we enjoy "I love you, stinky face". For the mom herself, Baby Bargains and Baby 411 are fabulous! Baby Bargains rates everything you will need and tells you what you need and what is a waste of money. Really helpful for first-time parents! Baby 411 is my absolute favorite. It tells you things that none of the other books do! For example, when I was having such a hard time cutting the nails of my newborn all of the books kept saying that it was hard, but just be careful, or just file them. Then, I read in Baby 411 that they may actually be still attached to the skin! My babies were! No wonder I couldn't cut them! Anyway, Baby 411 is written in an in such a way that everything is easy to find and use! Have fun!

A.

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