Prayer for a Child (or baby!)

Here is another of my favorite board books: Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field. This classic Caldecott Award winner is a beautifully illustrated nighttime prayer. I teared up the first time I read it to Little Page. Holding her in my lap, her freshly-washed little head resting against my chest, I read this prayer out loud and felt incredibly blessed by the experience. The poem is quaint but beautiful, asking blessing on those quiet aspects of a child's life: her milk, toys, friends, family. The illustrations of a little blond child in her victorianesque life are sweet and compliment the lines of the poem perfectly.

I think this book works as a board book because each page contains only a line or two of text. I don't know about your baby, but Littlest Page has the attention span of, well, a 10-month-old. She also loves turning pages, so the less text on a page, the better. This book is just the right length. The pictures are colorful and simple enough to hold a baby's attention. Littlest P likes to give one picture in particular big, sloppy kisses. I couldn't ask for a better endorsement!