First birthday books (that they won't already have)

Bookish gift ideas for one-year-olds that aren't Hairy Maclary or Where is the Green Sheep?

If You Run Out of Words by Felicita Sala

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When I work at The Kids’ Bookshop, one of the most frequent types of customers are those wanting to buy a newborn or first birthday present. I always try to steer this person towards something a bit more left-of-field. Usually unsuccessfully, but hear me out.

My reasoning is that the kid in question probably already has 3 copies of Kissed by the Moon. Often the customer will ignore my advice and select The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or another Hairy Maclary book, or Where the Wild Things Are, and I will mourn for that book which I think will just end up being regifted or dropped at an op shop. (I personally have donated around 12 copies of Where is the Green Sheep? to our local Salvos. Please. Stop giving them to us. We’ve read it. We own it. We don’t need any more! Thank you for the thought! But no!)

I also firmly believe it is such a lost opportunity to buy something fun, contemporary and Australian that a toddler will enjoy reading for years to come. There are so many great books out there in this category that any one-year-old would be lucky to receive!

I think what these classics-obsessed customers are trying to do is share a book they loved as a child. Which is lovely! And special! Nostalgia is great! I just think that the chances of the birthday boy/girl already having that book on their shelves is rather high. If you really can’t go past The Rainbow Fish, my tip would be to check with the parent first. (But actually, I don’t think The Rainbow Fish has aged very well at all so maybe try again.)

Alternatively, if you want to avoid this issue altogether, and if you’re interested in gifting something a little more unique (and from this decade) to a one-year-old, you’ve come to the right place.

(In coming weeks I’ll also create a similar list for newborn bookish gifts if you’re interested?)

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I’m starting with something very special. If you’re looking for a book that is moving and meaningful, but also very far from didactic and/or cringe-worthy (I am biting my tongue not to name some of the worst offenders here) then I highly recommend A Life Song by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker.

Using the metaphor of song, this book takes the reader on a journey through memories, missteps, adventures, modulations, and new verses. It’s one of the sweetest picture books I’ve ever come across and would be one that a child could keep and cherish forever. A gift to the parents, too, which is always a nice nod on a first birthday.

When you are born, you make up a song
It doesn’t rhyme, and it isn’t long
A song of everything you hold dear
It’s your own tune, it’s loud and clear

Along the lines of something sweet and gentle (and not clumsy nor tedious), I also suggest This is My Happy Place by Emma Bowd, Tiny Wonders by Sally Soweol Han (or any of her others), I Would Dangle The Moon by Amber Moffat, If You Run Out of Words by Felicita Sala, 31-and-a-Half Things to Know as You Grow by Meg McKinlay and Nikki Johnston, What is Love? by Carson Ellis and Mac Barnett, Little Love List by Bethany Clark and Summer Macon, The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel and Danny Snell, or The Library of Bears by Cat Rabbit.

Gosh, there are so many more that would fit the bill here, but I’d better keep going.

Moving away from the calm and tender, maybe a loud and wacky book is better for the one-year-old you have in mind? There are some outrageously funny and original picture books that would really stand out from the piles of overdone classics a child might otherwise be gifted.