We've received some excellent book recommendations recently and I wanted to share some of our favourites with you. All of these board books have been chosen to expand Otto's vocabulary or at least to expand the language he is exposed to. He is more and more interested in books with people and especially babies in them. I hope you enjoy this selection too.

How Do You Say I Love You? by Hannah Eliot. “I love you” may sound different around the world, but the meaning is the same. This board book features families from ten countries (Italy, Japan, Spain, Russia, Egypt, Brazil, Germany, France, India, China) saying "I love you", all with iconic or culturally relevant backdrops. I found it very sweet. We are introducing a whole range of languages to our child and also the names of other countries.

Baby Goes to Market by Atinuke. This beautiful board book is set in a Nigerian market place and I was looking for the language of the market. It is bright, colourful and so charming. I love that the baby is the centre of the story. It's the first book that we've used that contains numbers and this may be of interest for older toddlers. It's also a little cheeky, which most toddlers love.

Hats of Faith by Medeia Cohan. This board book is wonderful for building vocabulary and normalising hats of faith. Introduce your child to a Turban, Hijab, Rasta Hat, Patka, Tichel, Chunnni, Topi, Kippah and Head Wrap. Pronunication cues are provided. It also introduces the child to the names of different faiths. There isn't much of a story line but the book does a wonderful job of buildling vocabulary and starting a discusion on faith. This is fantastic for toddlers but I think very much also for preschoolers.

Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora. This is another one which introduces the child to a whole range of different languages but also normalises that in one neighbourhood many languages may be spoken. Introduce you child to words like Buenos Dias, Shalom, Konichiwa, Jambo, Bonjour, Al salaam a'alaykum, Ciao, Ni hao, and Hola. This is a fun and sweet read!

Mommy, Mama and Me by Lesléa Newman. This is a lovely baby book that most babies or toddlers would enjoy. Otto identifies with many of the activities like having a play at the park, a drink, bath, nap, helping with the cooking. The language is very much around the activities a child would engage in on most days. However this book features a Mommy and a Mama and is wonderful for introducing the concept of same sex parenting. The gender of the child isn't disclosed which makes it unique.