Behind The Series: Baby Babbles
Author C. Hope Flinchbaugh shares what inspired her to write the Baby Babbles series and her newest book Baby Babbles C/K.
Inspired by Baby
Before I wrote and published books, I enjoyed teaching my classroom of first and second graders how to read. What a joy to watch the face of a child light up when they could finally read that first new sentence!
I started my maternity leave a couple of weeks before my first baby was due. As I drove home that day, it seemed every child on the block was outside playing, and I watched each one with renewed interest. I saw a boy on a bicycle and wondered who taught him to ride so well without training wheels? How long did it take that toddler to learn to walk and then push her toy baby stroller up the sidewalk? Watching the children at play fascinated me because, while I couldn’t see all the steps coming in my journey ahead, my mind was geared toward classroom lesson plans and individual learning styles.
It Starts at Home
As a teacher, I knew that a child’s initial education began at home. Even a kindergarten student comes to class with a collection of vocabulary words, expressions, and learning experiences. It’s a little embarrassing to admit it, but I was an anxious first-time parent and honestly wondered how I’d ever teach my child everything he would need to know before first grade!
After my son was born, I experienced quite a transition period. Would my little one be a visual learner or would he be kinesthetic and need to have a manipulative in his little hands to comprehend a noun? Would he respond to my voice immediately or would I need to hold an object in front of him to get his full attention?
Babbles
As my little one grew day by day, I wrote down the first syllables that he babbled and worked from there. His first word started with the letter Bb: bye-bye. The words bear, blankie (blanket), and book easily followed one another in his pronunciation and word comprehension. Of course, he said Da-da before he said Ma-ma! So, I wrote down his first words that started with the letter Dd. In time, I had a collection of baby books that my son and, later, my two baby daughters enjoyed. My illustrations were not nearly as much fun or hands-on as the Familius board books, but we read them with great pleasure!
Baby Babbles Series
With the help of Familus’s illustrators, editors, and design team, I am now launching an interactive board book series for parents and babies!
As a parent and now a grandparent, I like the way the book incorporates language at the baby’s pace. For example, when the baby begins to imitate bye-bye and wave, the parent can open this pint-sized book with several more Bb words that will delight baby’s eyes and fingers while she works to form the new words.
As the author, I love the fact that each new book in the series includes words that are a normal part of baby’s life—hair, hand, coat, car, bird, and BOO!
Thank you for reading my story. I hope that the Baby Babbles series will become a favorite at your house!