Have you seen those books that make noise? Yes, some books can make noise as and when you press on certain spots. These are sound books specially designed for babies to help in interactive learning and to develop multiple areas of the brain. Here is everything you need to know about sound books for babies.
Reading is a great habit you need to inculcate in your child from a very young age. Today, many innovative authors come up with very interesting concepts and ideas to make books interesting for babies and young children. Sound books are among those great innovations to help introduce books to children at a very young age.
In This Article
- What Are Sound Books?
- Are Sound Books Good For Babies?
- When Should You Introduce Sound Books to Babies?
- Benefits of Sound Books For Babies
- Top 8 Best Sound Books For Babies in First Year
- FAQ’s
What Are Sound Books?
Sound books are interactive books that allow babies to listen to various sounds, tunes, and music at the touch of a button. Each button produces a different sound, taking the baby by surprise. The challenge with engaging babies is that they have a very low attention span. Sound books for babies are getting popular since they seem to be able to hold their attention for longer.
These sound books are available in a wide variety. Books that make sounds of animals, nature, various musical instruments and vehicles are among the most popular.
Are Sound Books Good For Babies?
When you teach your baby about animals, how do you do it? You try to make the animal sound to teach them which animal makes what sound, don’t you? Many parents and teachers find this the most effective way to teach a baby about not just animals but about a lot of things around them.
When you teach your baby with sounds and music, they tend to grasp faster and retain longer. Sound books help you teach your little one more effectively without the visual stimuli videos come with. Such visual stimuli can be very damaging to their optical nerves or visual development when exposed to very bright and fast-moving images at a very young age.
[Read : Baby’s Fine Motor Skill Development]
When Should You Introduce Sound Books to Babies?
The next question that naturally follows is – when to introduce such books to babies.
A baby can’t see much distance or focus on images for the first few weeks after birth. They start seeing better around 2-3 months of age. Till then you can read to them by keeping the book a little closer to them. At around 3 months of age, you can give them these sound books and let them explore them on their own.
By 3 months, your baby has better motor control and can move their hands and use it to bang or touch things. Sound books can be very interesting and entertaining for a baby at this time as they will make different sounds when they touch different spots.
Benefits of Sound Books For Babies
Sound books can be extremely engaging and entertaining for babies. They have many developmental benefits for growing babies. Here are some of the benefits of sound books for babies.
1. Early Learning
Sound books give a head start to learning among babies. Your little one may be to learn and memorize but they do get familiar with various sounds and may sometimes relate to real-world situations. As your baby listens to various sounds, you can repeat the source of the sound. Slowly, as your baby grows, they will be able to grasp and learn quickly.
2. Fine Motor Skills
As your baby plays with various buttons and attempts to press them, fine motor skills develop. Your baby may not have enough strength to push the buttons initially to get the required sounds. With growth and practice, they will be able to achieve this skill.
3. Coordination
Pressing buttons on an interactive sound book requires hand-eye coordination. This skill is important for growing babies. As your baby keeps attempting to press these buttons and keys, they will be able to develop the needed hand-eye coordination.
4. Language
As babies press sounds and hear the related words, they will be able to learn new words. For example, they can learn the names of animals, birds, musical instruments etc. This will add to their overall vocabulary and help them learn the language.
5. Association
Babies will learn sound-word association which is a very important skill. Though young babies cannot form these associations, repeated exposure to sounds and words will help babies learn this skill as they learn toddlerhood or pre-school stage.
6. Memory
As babies learn sounds and words, their memory and retention develop. Babies will be able to learn and memorize various sounds and associated sources with repeated exposure to sounds when they press the buttons or keys.
Top 8 Best Sound Books For Babies in First Year
If you are not sure which books to buy your little baby, here is a list of 8 books, we feel can be beneficial for your baby in their developmental years:
1. Noisy Farm by Marion Billet
Farms are always noisy, filled with various sounds from various animals around. The book teaches the sounds of a few such farm animals. The bright illustrations help babies and young children remember which animal makes what sound. The book starts with a rooster waking up one animal and how it has a chain effect and eventually wakes up all animals on the farm.
Why This Book
Your baby will learn the various sounds made by various farm animals, along with their names, and a little about their environment or habits, from the illustrations. This can be a very interesting way to introduce young ones to farm animals. The book has tabs on top with a picture of an animal on each and the sound buttons are to the side of the book. This encourages your baby to revisit farm animals they are interested in.
2. Moo On the Farm by Thea Feldman
A very engaging book that encourages a baby to interact with the book and learn about farm animals, more effectively. Babies will learn the names of some of the common farm animals, the sounds they make, and some interesting facts about them too.
Why This Book
This book is suitable for very young readers who have just started using their hands with control. It improves cognition by making your little one match the image on the page with the images over the buttons, helps them learn the sounds these animals make, and keeps themselves occupied for a while at least.
3. Oink On the Farm by Thea Feldman
The book has 10 different buttons. Pressing these will make the sound of 10 different things you are bound to find in and around the farm. This book is full of facts about all these 10 things you are bound to find in and around a farm.
Why This Book
No baby can resist pressing buttons, especially if they make sounds of some of their favorite farm animals. The book can teach various things around a farm, the sounds of farm animals and the sounds of a tractor too along with the names of the animals and things on the farm. Pressing buttons will help strengthen their fingers.
4. Night Sounds by Sam Taplin(Usborne)
Usborne is known for phonetic books that use rhyming words or similar-sounding words. Repeated use of similar-sounding words is easier for babies to learn the sounds and new words. The book has beautiful illustrations of the animals and insects from the night world along with buttons that make sounds of these night creatures.
Why This Book
This is an interactive book with holes and buttons that make sounds on pressing. Babies will love to use the book in different ways at different times to entertain themselves. The rhyming words help babies learn and remember the names and sound easily. The sound buttons have the sound names written next to them, thus making it easier for babies to learn the name of the sounds
5. Don’t Tickle The Hippo by Sam Taplin(Usborne)
The book starts off by warning not to tickle the hippo else it might snort. It goes on to warn about a few more animals and tells what sounds they can make. There are holes with textured patches around the belly area of these animals that your baby can rub to “tickle” the animal.
Why This Book
Another Usborne touch and feel book with sounds that enables your little one to experience both senses of touch and hearing along with interesting and colorful visuals. It is a sensorial book that can contribute to the development of a baby’s senses. The development of these senses are important milestones, and this book can aid well in that.
[Read : Baby Hearing Development After Birth]
6. Noisy First Words by Libby Walden
The book covers everyday things your baby is bound to come across, like animals, toys, and items in the room. The book has colorful illustrations along with the names of the things and one textured patch per page. Pressing on this page will make a noise.
Why This Book
A touch-and-feel book accompanied by sounds of simple things babies are bound to see around them helps them learn more about their environment. Babies can learn their first words with the help of big and colorful illustrations and sensorial patches. The book caters to the auditory, touch, and visual senses of a baby.
7. Jungle Sounds by Sam Taplin(Usborne)
A touch and feel Usborne sound book that uses rhyming words to describe the sounds made by creatures in the jungle. The bright illustrations and easy-to-understand writing captivate a baby’s attention and makes them come back for re-reads. The story is about the various animals, birds, and insects in the jungle and how each of them fills up the surrounding with their unique sounds and calls.
Why This Book
Your baby can learn the names and sounds of some wild animals. The cute illustrations of the wild animals make them less scary and more fascinating for young ones. The high quality of sound transports the reader to the jungle and gives your baby a unique experience they are bound to love.
[Read : Top 8 Best Touch and Feel Books For Babies in First Year]
8. Noisy Trucks by Tiger Tales
The book is about various trucks of different sizes, you see on the roads. There are small spots to press that make the truck noise and information about each truck. Information such as what that truck is used for can teach your baby more about these trucks.
Why This Book
Babies love to mimic the sound of trucks and this book allows them to do just that. This interactive book uses real-time images of these trucks with gaps for textured patches that make sounds when pressed. Your baby can press them light or long or multiple times to make them mimic how trucks actually honk.
A newborn baby can hear better than they can see. Their sense of sound is fully developed, and sound books for babies can help them use these books to learn more about their environment. Books with sounds and different textures help in overall sensorial development which is very important for growing babies.
FAQ’s
1. When Do Babies Start Perceiving Sounds?
Between 1 and 3 months of age, babies will start understanding sounds and even respond to them with smiles and screams. They will also start looking towards the sound and start committing it to memory.
2. Are Audiobooks More Effective than Videos For Babies?
Early exposure to digital screens and bright moving visuals can affect both vision and brain development. Books, on the other hand, are safe and the baby can process them at their own pace.
3. Can Audiobooks Help Improve a Baby’s Vocabulary?
Repeatedly hearing a word when they press on an image can help them understand and learn that word is associated with the image. With both visual and audio inputs, a baby can learn faster.
Read Also: Top 6 Best Counting Books For Babies in First Year
