From birth
Galt's new range of soft books really can come into use from birth because they are small and flexible enough to be scrunched up and manipulated by the tiniest of hands. Each book measures around 9 x 10cm and comes with a moulded plastic ring which you detach and fix through the cloth buttonhole on the binding of the book. In this way, you can attach the book to a pushchair, car seat, cot or baby chair, to avoid the frustration of the book disappearing when the baby releases her grasp. There are six different books in this series, running along the familiar themes of Farm; Jungle; Garden; Pets; Travel and Teddy's Day. All of them come in bright colours with different textures to explore on each page, including 'bobbly', 'silky', 'furry' and 'soft'. 'Lift the flap' features are also included, and the graphics are simple without being twee. In the Travel book, for example, the balloon has a 'bobbly' texture, the train engine has a 'soft'
puff of smoke emitting from it, the helicopter has a 'shiny' but 'rough'
blade, the car and tractor have lift-up flaps to reveal the interior, the boat has a 'silky' sail and the pick-up truck is transporting a 'fluffy' sheep. Each book can be closed with a Velcro strap and every page produces a very satisfying, scrunching sound when squeezed, as does the book when it is grasped as a whole. Machine-washable, and priced 2.99 each from Mail Order Express.
* Telephone 08700 129090
From six months
IQ Baby's Baby Steps book can be used at two different stages of a baby's development. The book can safely be handled by babies from birth upwards and could be attached to a cot or chair by threading a ribbon through one of the three plastic rings binding it together. The three left-handed pages feature monochrome patterns, with some colour contrasts for very young babies to explore. The right-handed pages are in bright colours with a combination of textures, flaps and noises. The pages can easily be separated by an adult unclipping the ring binder, so you could pop different sections into a cot or play area each session. Mirrors, squeakers and large flaps also feature here. It is more likely that the book would be used independently from around six months upwards because of its larger size - it measures a generous 19 x 23cm. Machine washable, priced 7.99 from ABC Nursery.
* Telephone 01582 503503
Early Learning Centre produces two books to accompany its Blossom Farm range of toys and equipment - Where are the animals? and Who lives on a farm? Both books, which measure around 21 x 19cm and have eight pages each, are positively bulging with features and have stiffened, towelling spines to keep them book-shaped. Who lives on a farm? is full of rattles, squeakers, textures and a mirror, but it also has a basic text of questions about the animals running through it, which provides an opportunity to sit down with the child and initiate the 'turning the page for a beginning, middle and conclusion sequence' that is an essential pre-reading skill.
Where are the animals? aims to teach the concept of relative space, using 'behind', 'in front', 'in', 'under', 'on top', 'at the bottom' and 'beside'. To do this there are detachable animals that can be placed behind a fence or in a pond, so you may wish to keep the book in a bag when it is not in use so that the animals do not escape and get lost. These books are hand-washable in tepid water and priced 10 each.
* Telephone 08705 352352
From nine months
K's Kids produces a range of well-known tales in fabric book form, with attached finger puppets to encourage performance of the story. The Three Little Pigs, for example, has a slit at the back of the book that allows you to put your hand up and into the three little pigs who are at the top of their 'house'. The book's pages then fold up and over the little pigs and there is a basic version of the story for you to read along the way.
Children will enjoy handling and playing with this book independently and it will also function for group story telling sessions. Additional stories include: Noah's Ark; The Emperor's New Clothes; Little Red Riding Hood and The Ugly Duckling. Other fabric books with a more traditional 'lift the flap' format are also available from K's Kids. Secrets of Nature has a large globe on the front cover that squeaks when it is squeezed, and on the following five pages, flaps are lifted to reveal 'a rainbow... after rain'
'the caterpillar becomes a butterfly!' and other natural phenomena. The books are hand-washable and come in a useful plastic pouch with Velcro fastening, priced 8.99 each.
* Telephone 01582 503503
Lamaze has several types of book in its nine months-plus range. Teddy's Toybox is a board book in disguise. The book has a soft fabric cover that can be removed for washing or to ring the changes for the children. The cover has a circular hole cut in the fabric to reveal the teddy on the shiny board beneath, and items that are in the toybox are revealed on each of the 12 pages, with an accompanying rhyme. In My House is a board book with a rounded fabric bound edge, nine different textures to accompany the simple text and illustrations throughout. There is a furry fabric centre to the teddy on the cover, a ball of wool for the cat to play with, a lacy curtain at the window and so on. Priced 2.85 each.
* Telephone 020 8643 0320
From one year
David Bennett's new Touch and Feel range has two titles by Jacqueline McQuade -My Touch and Feel Bunny and My Touch and Feel Kitten. Each book measures around 16 x 17cm in glossy, reinforced board and is about the right size for an older baby to turn pages independently or for an adult and child sharing. The illustrations are spread over a double page throughout, with some imaginative textures to explore: there is an authentically rough kitten's tongue as well as a soft furry belly and a woven basket that the kitten sleeps in. The text is kept to a minimum in these books and they can be wiped clean. Priced Pounds 4.99 each.
* Telephone 020 7697 3000
Colour Book from Insect Lore is a fabric book with stiffened poly/cotton pages and appliqued felt images. The book is based around a palette of six colours: red, orange, blue, purple, green and yellow and has detachable, Velcroed discs that can be used to attach to the appropriately coloured flower, fruit or animal. There is no text in the book, but the idea of mixing colours to make others is introduced by paint tubes in the top corner of pages showing that blue and red make purple, and so on. The book measures 20 x 22cm and is priced 15.60.
* Telephone 01908 563338
