The Joy of Board Books

For those of you who may be looking for some last-minute gifts for the tots in your life, might I recommend some board books?

Board books are those thick cardboard-style books made especially for babies and toddlers. I love these types of books because they are functional, cute, and practical. Kids at this age chew on books, throw books, and have no concept of being gentle with paper pages. "Regular" children's books are certainly beautiful and we own and enjoy plenty of those, too. Board books just seem to be better for a little hands-on experience.

And don't get me started on dust jackets on children's books...completely and utterly useless, and stupid, in my opinion. It's not like an adult version where the book is just plain and the dust jacket offers the eye-catching cover art. On a children's book, there is art all over the book itself. Dust jackets just get torn off by eager little hands.

So anyway, back to board books. Might I recommend the following, which have gotten a lot of play at our house, from newborn to 19 months (so far)...

Anytime Books:
My Many Colored Days - Dr. Seuss
Quiet Time With Cassatt - Julie Merberg/Suzanne Bober (also recommend other books in the series - Van Gogh, Monet, etc.)
Anything in the Bright Baby series
The Five Senses - Green Start

Bedtime/Nap Time Books:
Time For Bed - Mem Fox
The Going to Bed Book - Sandra Boynton
Hush Little Baby - Sylvia Long
Good Night Lake - Adam Gamble/Cooper Kelly (series)
Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready for Bed? - Barney Saltzberg
Prayer for a Child - Rachel Field (also a great christening gift)
The Napping House - Audrey Wood

Many of these also come in the regular versions. Keep in mind the little square board books (about 3"x3") that often come in sets are also great gifts because they fit easily in the diaper bag and mom's purse when on the go. Happy gift-giving!

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Apparently this book/recent movie is a bit of an indie sensation, but I wasn't aware of it until someone in my book club suggested we read it. Needless to say, I'm glad I did.

Never Let Me Go is at the root, a book about human cloning. However, I don't think the word cloning is ever mentioned. We read about groups of children growing up in the Hailsham School, and we know they are somehow different. The truth about their eventual lives as "carers" and "donors" is never kept a secret, yet there is still something about the whole situation and the way it is revealed to the reader that keeps it a bit mysterious. Perhaps it is the point of view of the protagonist, Kathy, who seems rather matter-of-fact about her fate. Other characters, like her friend Tommy, are more passionate and seem unsettled with the fact that this life must be accepted. Yet none of them really makes any real attempt to run away from it.

The book certainly instigated some very intense questions. The notion of an entire fleet of humans essentially bred for organ donation made me shudder - first at the confusion of the ethics (are they really "human?" Is it worth investing in education or quality of life for these "people" if their fate is simply to donate too many organs to remain alive?) and then at the possibility that technology could exist that would make this reality (is this already happening in some kind of unregulated setting, in some far corner of the world?) It's a little bit sci-fi, a little bit fiction, a little bit appalling, and a lot thought-provoking.

Some in my book club found this book difficult to get into, some just couldn't get their heads around the idea or get invested in the characters. Others, like me, loved the book, for all the reasons mentioned above and more. There is some beautiful writing, and the style is subtle enough to deal with delicate issues without throwing them in your face. I felt the stoic nature of the main character, Kathy, was reflective of the type of treatment she received as a child and as a marked member (or essentially non-member) of society. Granted, I haven't read a lot of books this year - but this is the best one by far.

4.5 of 5 stars