Why bedtime stories give babies plenty to chew on

After a bath we'd settle down in his lamp-lit room with a few books before bed. To my surprise, it proved to be reasonably successful straight away, even if for the first couple of months the best thing, as far as George was concerned, was not so much the story telling, as getting each of the books in his mouth and gumming on them.

It soon became obvious that only cloth books or chunky "board books", where the pages are made of thick chew-resistant card, would survive the enthusiastic attention of his jaws.

The board book edition of Hairy Maclary From Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd (Puffin 5.99) was an early favourite and it is still now. I have read it so many times I can recite it word for word with my eyes shut.

Bursting with rhythm and rhyme Hairy Maclary goes off for a walk with an engaging cast of doggy friends. As a parent you can have great fun creating silly voices for each of the characters, although it can be embarrassing if you forget to turn off the baby monitor and you've got a group of friends downstairs.

Of course, reading aloud to your baby is a great way of developing your child's vocal skills as well as your own. George very much enjoys joining in with all the silly noises in We're Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury (Walker 4.99) where a family travels through, forest ("stumble, trip"), mud ("squelch, squelch") and snowstorm ("hoo! woo!") looking for a bear.

It's a beautifully illustrated book and a fun way to encourage babies to start making their own sounds, and to begin making a connection between what's being spoken and what's on the page.

Like most babies, once George stopped putting everything in his mouth, he wanted to explore everything with his hands and Usborne's That's Not My… series by Fiona Watt (Usborne 5.99) is a fantastic range of indestructible chunky board books designed to appeal to inquisitive little fingers.

The books feature bright colourful illustrations with different textures to touch and feel on each page. With books in the series on a wide range of popular childhood themes from pirates to princesses there's something for everyone.

Lift the flap books are also great fun for little fingers to explore and can help with the development of motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell (Macmillan 4.99) was a favourite in our house.

A letter to the zoo asking for a pet results in the delivery of a succession of unsuitable animals.

Don't miss out on the opportunity this offers to roll out all your finest animal impressions.

Perhaps the best touchy-feely book of all though is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Puffin 5.99). Nothing really beats getting your fingers in the holes that the greedy caterpillar makes as he eats his way through a feast of apples, pears, oranges, watermelon, cherry pie and Swiss cheese before being transformed into a beautiful butterfly.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been a favourite with families for more than 40 years and its enduring popularity owes as much to its wonderful illustrations as it does to its quirky design.

Some of my earliest childhood memories are of the vivid pictures in the fairy tale books published by Ladybird in the Seventies such as The Elves and the Shoemaker and The Magic Porridge Pot.

Great illustration stimulates the imagination and can transform a book in to a magical experience that babies and young children will want to repeat again and again.

The illustrations do virtually all the story telling in The Baby's Catalogue by Janet and Allan Ahlberg (Puffin 5.99) – there is hardly any text. It's brimming with amusing and gorgeous pictures of all the people, objects and activities a baby can expect to come across in a typical day, and as a parent you can have great fun pointing out all the lovely details in the images, asking questions and making up the story as you go along.

George is nearly two now, and I hate to say it, but he's not really a baby anymore. He spends his day charging about with his trucks and cars, too busy and grown-up for cuddles.

As his soppy mum, that can be hard, but I do know that come bedtime he'll sit on my knee for a whole half hour while we read his favourite books. I think it's almost as magical an experience for him, as it is for me.

Mel Harris works for Waterstones www.waterstones.com

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