What is the practice?
This practice uses both store-bought and homemade touch-and-feel books to involve an infant in looking at, touching, and exploring books, while a parent or caregiver describes what the child is doing or tells the child a story as she plays with a book.
What does the practice look like?
An infant who loves to reach, grab, and touch everything and anything in sight is shown a touch-and- feel book. The infant is seated on her mother’s lap facing away from her with the book held out in front of the child. Not surprisingly, the girl immediately reaches for and grabs the book. Mom opens the book, and to her daughter’s surprise she sees the fluffy tail of a rabbit! As the child runs her hand over the tail, her mother describes what she is doing (“The bunny tail is soft”). Page after page, the little girl gets more and more excited.
How do you do the practice?
The best touch-and-feel books are ones that include things that the child likes and enjoys. These can be store-bought or homemade books. Search the Web using homemade touch-and-feel books for ideas for making a special book for a particular child.
How do you know the practice worked?
- Does the child reach for and grab the book?
- Does she get excited when she sees things that are familiar to her?
- Does the child vocalize more and “talk to” what she is looking at?
- Start by thinking about the things the child especially likes to look at and touch. The more interesting the book pages are to the child the better.
- Look for books that include as many of those favorite things as you can find. Try making a “My Special Touch Book.”
- Find any position that is comfortable to the child to show her the book. Talk about and describe what she is looking at and doing.
- Repeat any movements or sounds she makes. This will encourage her to want to continue to look at the book.
- Make the book reading as fun and enjoyable as you can.
Take a look at more more touch-and-feel books
Terrific Textures
Seven-month-old Veronica often lies in her crib after waking up from a nap and rubs and touches whatever is in her crib (stuffed animal, crib rails, mobile). She seems to especially like the feel of different kinds of materials. Based on this interest, Veronica’s mom and her home visitor have found some touch-and-feel books for her that include different animals and textures. They know Veronica especially likes looking at pictures of animals, so they decide to see what she will do with the touch-and-feel book. Veronica is beside herself! Almost immediately she is grabbing, touching, feeling, and vocalizing at the animals as her mother talks about and describes what Veronica is doing.
My Touchy-Feely Book
Gavin’s caregiver, Katie, knows how much he loves to touch and feel different things. She also knows that 12-month-old Gavin especially likes things that move when he touches or pushes them. Katie gathers different things that Gavin likes to touch to make Gavin’s Touchy-Feely Book. The book has 10 pages with a picture of one of his favorite things on the left side and the fabric or material that “feels like” his favorite things on the right side (e.g., a picture of a drum and a small piece of canvas). Katie describes what Gavin is looking at and makes up sounds to go with each of the objects. Gavin and the other children in Katie’s class love the new book and make different sounds as they play with it.
Cheek to Cheek
Andrea’s physical difficulties make it hard for her to reach for things in front of her. With the help of her early interventionist, her father has found a way to read to her using touch-and-feel books that his daughter especially likes. Instead of Andrea reaching for and touching the pages of the book, her dad describes what she is looking at and then rubs her nose or cheek with the book page. Andrea’s early interventionist helps by bringing different fabrics and textures for her to play with during their visits. Sometimes her dad also uses stuffed animals or other materials to show and talk about how different textures feel.
