Question: I will be going to a baby shower soon and I would like to give books. Bookstore people keep telling me what are "best sellers" but I don't care about best sellers, I just want really good books. If you were me, what five or six books would you buy?

Answer: Well, here are some books that are favorites of the children at our centers -- and all the adults think they're great, too. We really can't choose just a half-dozen!

• "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown

• "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" by Bill Martin, Jr.

• "Guess How Much I Love You?" by Sam McBratney

• "Pat the Bunny" by Edith Kunhardt Davies

• "Baby Can" by Eve Bunting

• "Counting Kisses" by Karen Katz

• "Moo, Baa, La, La, La" by Sandra Boynton

• "Black & White" by Tana Hoban

• "You and Me, Baby" by Lynn Reiser

• "All of Baby, Nose to Toes" by Victoria Alder

• "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle

• "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes" by Mem Fox

• "Goodnight Gorilla" by Peggy Rathmann

• "Hush, Little Baby" by Brian Pinkney

Any or all of these would be a great way to start a child's book collection. Keep in mind that, for infants and toddlers, "board books" with heavy cardboard pages are great.

We highly recommend that you visit www.beginningwithbooks.org, the website of Beginning with Books, a local organization that supports parents, caregivers, and teachers in helping children develop a lifelong love of reading. Every year, Beginning with Books compiles a list of "Best Books for Babies." Those lists and other material on the site are great resources.

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