Explore some of our favourite books for little hands in celebration of National Baby Week.
These books include high contrast colours, sensory touch and feel pages, as well as lift-the-flaps to excite and engage babies.
Want more suggested books? Take a look at our recommendations.
Toys: A Black-and-White Book
Introduce your baby to all kinds of toys with this gorgeous black-and-white book!
Designed to develop babies’ eyesight from birth, this high-contrast book with clearly-defined images and simple text will engage your child’s senses as they discover all their favourite toys.
Look, There’s a Rocket!
Esther Aarts
Follow the holes to read the story in this interactive space adventure! Little ones will love finding the holes with their fingers, peeping through and turning the page to see what the holes become.
With a gentle rhyming text encouraging children to say what they can spy in every scene, this is a journey through the stars to visit time and time again.
Baby’s Very First Black-and-White Animals
Stella Baggott
A simple board book with black-and-white pictures of baby’s favourite animals.
The high-contrast images are easy for babies to focus on and the ‘soft-touch’ cover make this an ideal book for sharing between parent and child.
Josephine
Chloé Alméras
Little yellow giraffe Josephine is out and about – eyes wide open and muzzle in the air. She pokes her nose into the blue and her hooves into the green, plays with the clouds and makes rings in the water. The world is so full of interesting things!
Take a walk with Josephine to explore shapes and patterns, near and far, nature through the seasons, things that are different and things that are the same.
Dinoland
Sarah Wade
Who will you meet in Dinoland?
A super bright board book for little dino lovers.
Explore
Judi Abbot
Free play helps the child develop their language, thinking, and problem-solving ability, improves their motor skills, and they learn to get along with others while building their self-confidence.
This board book shows several children engaging in free, independent play.
Baby Sees: Spots & Dots
Chez Picthall
Experts agree that young babies are attracted to black-and-white and high-contrast colour images and patterns – and focusing on them helps babies to make connections with the world around them.
This book contains high-contrast images designed to appeal to young babies.
Rose Signs: Please and Thank You!
Rose Ayling-Ellis
Join Rose and Kitten Casper in this special story for 0-5 year olds and learn to sign along the way.
Every page shows Baby Rose introducing a new, essential sign to her Kitten Casper, with a simple step-by-step demonstration for young readers to follow and join in too.
Peekaboo!
Play peekaboo with your baby with this black and white board book with colourful felt flaps to lift and a surprise mirror ending! Who is hiding behind each flap?
With bright and playful characters to spot behind each soft felt flap, and a surprise mirror finale, this chunky board book is the perfect first book to share together with your baby.
Slide and See Things That Go
Stella Baggott
Babies and toddlers will love making the vehicles in this brightly coloured board book move by sliding the panels.
Bright, bold, colourful illustrations are attractive to very young children, and the sliders, cut-outs and finger trails are perfect for developing essential motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Hello World!
Amelia Hepworth
Did you know that babies are drawn to black and white from birth? This chunky board book has been specially designed to captivate newborns and young babies. You’ll be amazed at their response!
Each page features bold patterns, neon bursts of colour and black-and-white illustrations, which have been shown to aid crucial early development. Babies will be fascinated by the high-contrast images as they meet adorable nature friends!
How to Be a Cat
Sam Voulters and Yoshiko Hada
When I’m feeling this and that, I pretend to be a cat. Drink water from a bowl, lick your paws and start to purr. Pounce, jump and bounce, then stretch out on the floor in a patch of sun.
Curl up with this joyful board book and join two children and their fantastic pet cat in imaginative play.
Revolting Things to Touch and Feel
Roaldas Dahlas
What does a giant’s foot feel like? How about a rotten egg, or a bumpy crocodile?
Find out in this book that’s full of the most revolting things to touch and feel!
Yummy Yummy
Forest Xiao
Banana is yummy, watermelon is yummy, air is yummy, my friend is yummy, Daddy’s socks are not yummy (sorry, Daddy) and what is the yummiest of all? Mummy, of course.
With bright, clear graphics and images full of gentle, playful humour, this is a delectable bite-sized book for all babies.
Dinos at Work
Stacie Bradly
See a T. Rex become a digger, an ankylosaurus become a wrecking ball and a triceratops become a bulldozer!
Using their dino skills, these busy builders SMASH, SHIFT, MIX and LIFT to build something roar-some together!
The Little Book With No Pictures
B. J. Novak
What might the words in this book with no pictures make the reader say? Maybe: ‘BONK my nose!’ or ‘MOO like a cow!’ or ‘Eat the book – yum yum yum!’
It might even include some actions, like bouncing and hugging and dancing.
Happiness With Aristotle
Duane Armitage
Aristotle believed that the best way to live a happy life was to fill it with true friends.
In ‘Happiness with Aristotle’, this idea is explained for the youngest thinkers, from helping your friends to be good people to learning to love yourself as well as others.
On a Submarine
Rosalyn Albert
With lots to spot and see, from brightly coloured jellyfish, magical underwater cities, and even a shipwreck with treasure, there’s no end to the excitement of a submarine trip.
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