French books for babies: Baby’s first library

If you’re planning on teaching French to your child, you may be wondering what the best French books for babies 0-2 are. Here are a few types of books to consider when choosing books for your little darling’s first library.

Related: How to Teach French to Babies

French books for babies – Livres pour bébés

Picture books – Imagiers

An imagier is a book with images that usually focus on baby’s first words. You can buy these French books on a variety of themes such as fruits, animals, shapes, colours, and nature.

Most imagiers are board books with rounded corners, ideal for little ones. Some feature slides, pop-ups, or lift-the-flap mechanisms that will keep your child engaged while you read the book to them. As they grow, your child will have fun using their own hands and fingers to interact with the illustrations and mechanisms, helping develop their fine motor skills.

Touch and feel books – Livres à toucher

Touch and feel books have interesting textures in addition to illustrations. Babies love the different and new sensations that these tactile books provide. French touch and feel books will also give you the opportunity to describe the material as they experience it with their little hands. This means that they will learn French words for materials that are soft, rough, crinkly, prickly, etc.

Fabric books – Livres en tissus

There are many touch and feel books that are made of fabric that your little one can interact with as they would a toy. They often come with many interesting little attention-grabbing items such as baby-safe mirrors and bells that babies have fun playing with.

Sound books – Livres sonores

There are a variety of French sound books for babies. Some are similar to picture books, with the added benefit of sound, which means that your baby will be able to associate the sound of the word with the image in front ot them. Other sound books may have sound that animals make, or nature sounds, or even music, which babies love.

Finger puppet book – Livres marionnettes

If you love to get into character and make funny voices, finger puppet books are an excellent option. These board books usually have a fabric character that you can bring to life using your finger as you narrate the story to your child.

Storybooks – Livres d’histoires

Storybooks don’t only enrich children’s vocabulary but also their bedtime routine. Brimming with poetic language and soothing illustrations, they are perfect for snuggles and bonding with your petit chou.

What are your favourite French books for babies?