Touch and feel books are picture books that have different fabrics and textures inside. Your baby or toddler can listen to the story and explore the different textures at the same time. These types of books can support your child to feel more involved in story time.
Why are touch and feel books good to read with my baby?
The textures can help to tell the story, and build your babies understanding of new words. For example, your baby will have a better understanding of 'sheep' if they see a picture of a sheep, hear you make a baa sound, and feel a woolly texture.
While you read
As you read, encourage your baby to touch and feel the different textures in the book:
- Show them how to explore the textures.
- Describe what you feel, introduce new words such as, bumpy, smooth, rough.
- Describe the sounds the book makes, such as scratchy or crinkly.
- Pause often as you read, so your baby can play with the book.
- Copy the sounds your baby makes, or make encouraging noises in response.
Young babies may also want to explore the textures with their mouths, that's okay, it's how they learn.
More reasons to share touch and feel books:
- Babies will begin to understand new words as you describe the textures they feel.
- Interacting with books makes reading fun and teaches babies to enjoy books.
- Touch and feel books support the development of hand-eye coordination as babies scratch or stroke textures, and open flaps.
Good to know
Touch and feel books help your baby develop their senses to understand the world around them.
