My office has a wonderful tradition of giving new moms-to-be a basket of books to enjoy with their little ones.  As a FTM (=first time mom, as all the mom blogs that I read at 2am have informed me...the lingo is out of control), my baby book knowledge was pretty limited to the classics that I remembered from my own childhood.  Working with a lot of parents - and parents in publishing to boot - resulted in a pretty awesome and original basket of books.  One of the gems I received was The Boss Baby by Marla Frazee.

This adorable and entertaining book conveys what all new parents know to be true - your little bundle of joy runs your household from the moment he or she arrives.  We have a new boss, and he's demanding, particular, and expects us to work ridiculous hours.  My husband and I are in a never-ending cycle of boiling pacifiers, feeding him, changing him, listening for him, doing his laundry, giving him his medications, and countless more "jobs."  While baby boy didn't really have a reaction to this book one way or the other, I am in love with it because it's so relatable.   

The Boss Baby hilariously ends with the overworked employees (aka Mom and Dad) getting a sweet surprise when the Boss says his first words - Ma-ma and Da-Da.  For now, my husband and I would settle for our boss giving us an hour or two more of sleep, but he runs a pretty tight ship, so we won't get our hopes up too high.

To check out more from Marla, visit her Amazon Author Page: ​amzn.to/29zhOgE

Peter Linenthal's Look Look series of four board books are mildly terrifying to adults, but utterly captivating for babies.  As evidenced by my son's expression above, Look Look! had his undivided attention - something rare for a 5 week old (age in picture).  The block-like illustrations are rendered in black and white - oftentimes with the same image displayed on both the left and right sides of the page, simply with the colors inverted.  The contrast of the black and white images, the patterns that emerge, and the bold, monochromatic text unite to capitalize on what visually stimulates a baby at this age.  Clearly, Peter knows what he's doing.

The illustrations - particularly those of faces - will haunt your dreams (I still turn the page quickly when I get to the "children smile" page in Look Look - see what I mean?), but so far no books have held baby's attention as much as Lilenthal's.  We purchased Look Look Outside! immediately after watching baby's reaction to Look Look!  There are two more in this series from Lilenthal that we have yet to add to our collection, but we will - once I muster up the courage to meet the cast of characters in Look at the Animals! and Look at Baby's House!

To check out more from Peter, visit his Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/28Ng2br