This summer, IRW’s Director of Communications, Kelsey Buckley, and her husband, Matthew, welcomed twin girls—Molly & Maeve—into the world. read on to find out more about why it’s never too early to lay the foundation for future literacy.

In my years working at IRW, I’ve sometimes come across enthusiastic new parents who love what we do and will excitedly say, “I can’t wait to start reading to my baby!” Even before I was a parent myself, I would encourage folks to get reading now—it’s never too early!

From the beginning of my pregnancy we read poems out loud to the ever-growing bump, even before we knew we were expecting two babies.

The benefits of beginning early are numerous: “Prenatal exposure to spoken nursery rhymes has been associated with increased fetal movement and improved newborn sleep” (American Academy of Pediatrics).

Reading aloud to Maeve in the NICU.

Having arrived quite early, our girls spent 55 days in NICU. There, our primary nurse recommended that we bring in books once the girls were a little over a month old. We read picture books and poetry aloud to the girls regularly.

As someone who loves books and works in promoting literacy, I’ve spent a lot of time reading about how to build a strong foundation for reading as a new parent. If you want to take your own deep-dive, I recommend:

• “5 Reasons to Read to Babies and Toddlers Every Day,” Save the Children
• “Reading and Storytelling with Babies and Children,” Raising Children
• “Early Literacy,” American Academy of Pediatrics

At home, we regularly read picture books aloud to the babies. But our girls also spend a good portion of their day on their play mat

Molly masters lifting her head with the help of Tummy Time: Park!

on the floor and practice “tummy time.” Many  babies don’t love this developmentally crucial activity (an understatement!), but as they practice it, they begin to enjoy it more. One thing we’ve found is that propping up some board books, cloth crinkle books or accordion books around the girls makes this time more enjoyable and engaging.

Using books during tummy time doubles-down on benefits; babies learn to hold their heads up, build the foundation for crawling, and practice their focus, which is the earliest foundation for future literacy skills.

Another genre of books we love to read together are sensory, touch-and-feel or lift-the flap books. These are board books with tactile patches that may be furry, wooly, bumpy, glittery or smooth or that have die-cut flaps to lift, revealing images and words. We began by reading together and gently guiding the babies’ hands to explore the different textures and before long they were sinking their fingers into their favorite furry patches! It’s much the same with lift-the-flap books—the girls giggle with delight when we reveal something hidden behind a flap in one of their books. There’s great utility to having these sensory experiences with books too:

“Young children exposed to books that engage more than one sense tend to have better comprehension and enthusiasm for reading down the road.” — “Books that Captivate Babies and Toddlers,” Maria Russo, The New York Times, 2020

I’ve compiled a list below of some of our favorite books for babies, and hope that you and your little ones will enjoy them as well.  Find a full list by visiting our affiliate link at Bookshop.org. And for more board book recommendations, definitely check out Betsy Birds’ recent post “The Great Board Books of 2025”!

Our recent favorites:

We seem to particularly love publications from Nosy Crow!

I hope you enjoy these recommendations, and share with us your favorite books to read with babies!