My baby book diary

Guest blogger Kim Nichols is our Red House online marketing manager and mum to one-year-old Florence. She'll be contributing a regular baby book diary charting the reading journey of her typical toddler! 

My daughter Florence turned one in December and for her birthday she had, among lots of toys, quite a few books. So we’re armed and ready for our new reading adventures.

Her firm favourite since birth has been The Very Hungry Caterpillar, mainly because of the tiny, finger-sized holes which she enjoys poking at and she desperately turns the pages to get to these, which doesn’t always allow for much reading to be done. Luckily I know it off by heart now - not difficult since I must have read it over 200 times!

I keep all of Florence’s books in a basket next to her toy box so they are easily accessible and she really enjoys playing with them - taking them out and putting them back in the basket.  Many of them, particularly the small Ladybird Baby Touch: Peep Through books, have proven to be great playthings, as they’re great for tiny hands to hold and not too heavy.  These ones do get quite easily mashed during teething though, and I’ve frequently found her munching away on bits of blue cardboard (she’s not too fussed on the green, red or yellow flavours!).

Since turning one, Florence has become a bit more dextrous and has been enjoying pressing the buttons on her Freddy the Frog and Pip the Puppy books. Where's Spot? is a big draw too, although I’ve had to hide it as she’s ripped most of the lift the flap flaps out of it and I need to stick them back in!