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Bookshop's Favorite Infant Books

Introducing the perfect collection of infant books for your little one! These are Bookshop Santa Cruz staff's favorite board books for infants. they are designed to engage and captivate your baby's imagination while also promoting cognitive and language development. From classic nursery rhymes to modern-day stories, these books are sure to become a beloved part of your baby's early years.

Raindrops Roll by April Pulley Sayre

As fresh as a toddler’s first experience of rain, Raindrops Roll is our favorite infant book of the year. With stunning photography magnifying beads of water on a leaf, dripping branches, and insects taking cover, it pulls you into the intimate world of a raindrop. The humorous, perfectly crafted rhyme reminds us, playfully, of the web of life. An utterly satisfying lesson in wonder.  —Tera

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Raindrops Roll (Weather Walks) By April Pulley Sayre, April Pulley Sayre (Photographs by) Cover Image
By April Pulley Sayre, April Pulley Sayre (Photographs by)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781481420648
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Beach Lane Books - January 6th, 2015

Stella: Queen of the Snow by Marie-Louise Gay

Stella is a vivacious older sister who leads her little brother Sam through the winter season using their collective curiosity and imagination. Accompanied by the fanciful illustrations seen in all the Stella books, Stella and Sam explore snow and ice and all things winter while furthering their heartfelt relationship and their love of nature in all forms. Reading this book will make you want to grab your nearest sibling and go exploring. —Casey

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Stella, Queen of the Snow (Stella and Sam #4) By Marie-Louise Gay Cover Image
$9.99
ISBN: 9781554980710
Availability: Not On Our Shelves, But Available from Warehouse - Usually Delivers in 3-14 Days
Published: Groundwood Books - August 1st, 2010

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

An utterly irresistible, completely adorable tale of a bear who just wants his hat back, but can't remember where in the forest he could possibly have left it. This is a bear who really, really loves his hat, and will stop at nothing to see its return. Clever, funny, and perfectly illustrated, it is delightful book. —Flannery Fitch
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I Want My Hat Back (The Hat Trilogy) By Jon Klassen, Jon Klassen (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Jon Klassen, Jon Klassen (Illustrator)
$18.99
ISBN: 9780763655983
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Candlewick - September 27th, 2011

I Spy with My Little Eye by Edward Gibbs

“This clever book combines color recognition, die-cut peek-a-boo holes, animals, and a guessing game into a successful and appealing whole that will have young listeners asking for more…. Each ‘I spy’ page includes visual hints about the upcoming animal’s habitat, alongside the textual clues.” —School Library Journal.

Starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and School Library Journal.
Preschool

I Spy With My Little Eye By Edward Gibbs, Edward Gibbs (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Edward Gibbs, Edward Gibbs (Illustrator)
$8.99
ISBN: 9780763671631
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Templar - July 8th, 2014

Hannah’s Night by Komako Sakai

One day Hannah wakes in the early hours of the morning. Everyone is fast asleep, so Hannah does a few things she’s never done before. She gives the cat a saucer of milk to lap. She eats cold cherries from the fridge without asking. She borrows her sister’s doll…and her music box…and her colored pencils. In the dim night light, everything is just a little different from before, as if Hannah has stepped into another world. Sakai evokes the hush of night with loose, expressive brushstrokes and muted blues, punctuated by the occasional vibrant cherry or electric pink stripes of pajamas. Perfectly capturing the private world of discovery of a little girl, Hannah’s Night is a quiet treasure that gets better with each rereading. Grades Pre-K–1.
Reviewed by: 
Tera
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Hannah's Night By Komako Sakai Cover Image
Email or call for price
ISBN: 9781877579547
Availability: Out of Print
Published: Gecko Press - March 1st, 2014

The Storm Whale by Benji Davies

Noi lives with his father and six cats in a cottage by the sea. His father, a fisher, is gone all day, coming home in the evening. Noi, often accompanied by a kitten, is lonely. Until (with a light touch of magical realism) he finds a baby whale in distress on the beach, puts it in his wagon, trundles it home, establishes it in the bath, feeds the whale a pale of fish, and regales his guest with stories of life on the island. Noi’s dad returns from a long day’s work, finds his son with his new friend, comforts Noi with a hug, and then father and son row out in the night sea to return the young whale to its element. In the following pages we see Noi and his father together: painting, cooking, enjoying a beach picnic, and whale watching. The book’s endpapers are of an adult whale and baby whale moving through a depth of blue. The illustrations are rich, round, and reminiscent of Leonard Weisgard’s Caldecott winner Little Island. Grades Pre-K–K.
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The Storm Whale By Benji Davies, Benji Davies (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Benji Davies, Benji Davies (Illustrator)
$18.99
ISBN: 9780805099676
Availability: Not On Our Shelves, But Available from Warehouse - Usually Delivers in 3-14 Days
Published: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) - September 30th, 2014

Mama, Do You Love Me?

A young Inuit child tests her mother, something that children do not infrequently whether they live in Alaska or Santa Cruz. What if, she asks her mom, I behaved in a less-than-admirable fashion: Would you still love me? The mother’s answers are wise and, indeed, loving. Striking watercolors and a rhythmic text charm in this new-at-last-in-paperback edition. Ages 2–5.

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Mama, Do You Love Me? (Mama & Papa, Do You Love Me?) By Barbara M. Joosse, Barbara Lavallee (Illustrator) Cover Image
$8.99
ISBN: 9781452131498
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Chronicle Books - March 4th, 2014

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