babylit :: classic literature for the toddler set

I am a bookworm.  Ever since I can remember, I have loved to read.  When I was young, I kept a flashlight nearby to read under my covers after my parents turned out the light.  As I got older, my love of reading just grew.  Now there is always a book on my night stand (sometimes a stack of them) and I love to finish my day reading.  I love “going places” while lying in my bed.  As a parent, I want to foster this love of reading with my own children.

While browsing a local bookstore, I came across a genius concept from BabyLit–classic literature (Moby Dick!  Romeo and Juliet!  Jane Eyre!) in board book form.  The bright and cheery illustrations caught my eye first and I couldn’t wait to peek inside.  These books are very short–no need for a long attention span.  Charming. fun and written with the reader in mind, BabyLit books will have a place on my bookshelf for years to come.  Here’s what I thought about the three books that found their way onto my shelf:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn : A Camping Primer teaches children basic camping vocabulary with quotes from the original book.  I cannot read it without a strong southern drawl which always makes my son giggle.  Because there isn’t much text, the book lends itself to lots of discussion about the illustrations.  Edgar Gets Ready for Bed takes Edgar, the raven (yes, that is definitely a nod to Edgar Allen Poe) through dinnertime, clean up time and bed time, while he clearly opposes these ideas with a hearty “Nevermore”!  Fun text, adorable illustrations and a mommy who loves Edgar “Evermore”.
We also have had a blast playing with The Jungle Book playset which comes with The Jungle Book board book as well as punch out cards of the animals in the book.  My two-year-old loves to look at the pages in the book and find the matching animal from the playset.  The book is an animals primer and, like Huck Finn, each page highlights one word (in this case an animal) and pairs it with quotes from the actual book.  The animals in the playset really help the book lend itself to more discussion and play.  My son loves Kaa the python best and likes to try to imitate him by sticking out his tongue.

In addition to books and playsets, BabyLit also sells puzzles, dolls, buttons and totes.  How fun would these things be for the lit-loving mom-to-be?