Make way Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, there’s a new classic in town, soon to make its debut at a baby shower near you.
Enter the new Dr. Seuss board book, Dr. Seuss’s 100 First Words, published by Random House, for ages 0 to 3. Teaching a little one to talk is undoubtedly an intense and frustrating process for new parents, and it’s probably difficult to decide where to begin and what words a baby is even capable of speaking at different stages of their learning process.
Dr. Seuss’s 100 First Words is a great starting point to give parents an idea of where to begin. The book is separated into 14 different sections, like food, farm animals, mealtime, and home. Each page has splashes of bright colors with accompanying pictures of Dr. Seuss characters and objects drawn in the Seussy style. The fact that Seussy is an actual word, defined as, “characterized by or possessing qualities similar to the works of Dr. Seuss,” is a pretty good indication that this brand is the right choice for parents to use when teaching babies their first words.
If you read a lot of Dr. Seuss books to your kids, they’ll likely recognize some of the styles and characters, which is a great way to explain the words to them using a familiar medium they already know and love. Cat, from Cat in the Hat interacts with an object on each page, so it’s easy to say, “Cat in the Hat has a book” or “Cat in the Hat has a kite,” to help connect the words for them. The book is fairly large and heavy so it’s not as portable as some books might be, and while it’s not the best on-the-go option, it’s perfect for at-home learning. Hopefully, if the book becomes popular, they’ll release a pocket-size version.
This book has everything you might want in a book for kids. It covers a wide range of topics, and is separated into easy-to-digest categories for those moments when you want a quick reference for a word you’re trying to explain. The board book pages are thick and will stand the test of time between drool from kid No. 1 until spit-up from kid No. 5. Easy for parents to use and fun for kids who are learning, it would make a great addition to the Dr. Seuss section of the family bookshelf. And, hey, if you want to delegate the teaching to your other kiddos, it’s easy for them to point and teach the little one words, too.
