Baby Wiggle at Home. A High Contrast Baby Book - Mister E Press;Peter Evans

As a first-time grandfather and a former teacher with over three decades of experience working with early learning, elementary, and middle school students, I was intrigued by the research on how new babies see the world in stages. Starting with blurry outlines and features of objects and people around them, they move on to being able to distinguish familiar shapes from background views. Newborns are very nearsighted, preferring high-contrast black-and-white patterns.

High-contrast books help babies because they gain confidence in what they see. Bold, high-contrast images (usually black, white, and gray, with small dashes of color) help them focus, stimulate their optic nerve development, and strengthen their eye muscles, while aiding their visual recognition and encouraging their cognitive growth. Baby Wiggle at Home reduces familiar objects and scenes around the home to simple drawings and basic shapes with high contrasting shades. Talking through the book while holding the book 8 to 10 inches away from your baby is a great introduction to words, images and the cadence of storytelling. They will listen to your familiar voice as they tentatively try to make sense of the images in front of them. It is also a perfect prop for making the most of 'tummy time', which is crucial for babies to build strength in their neck, shoulder, and core muscles. This prepares babies for sitting, crawling, and walking and promotes motor skill development, motor control, and brain development.

I hope you enjoy sharing Baby Wiggle at Home with your baby as much as I will enjoy sharing it with our very own baby Wiggle.