Not only does Pat The Bunny make it into Baby’s First Library, it makes it to the top of the list. This is possibly the most commonly gifted baby book. Published in 1940 and with over 6 million copies in print, this story is unique because it involves most of the five senses. Opportunities to smell, touch, and see are found on the pages within. Dorothy Kundhardt’s simple story journeys through activities that you can share with baby. Invite baby to pat the furry bunny, smell the flowers, and look into a shiny mirror. It makes a clever introduction to reading books since baby’s senses are very much a part of her motivation for every movement she makes. She crawls to get to a toy so she can touch and feel it. She reaches to grasp an object so she can bring it closer where she can see it better and fully examine it. Her senses evoke her curiosity which motivate her movement and now her reading, too!
Pat the Bunny: by Dorothy Kundhardt. (New York: Golden Books, 1940)