Baby Einstein Alphabooks

The Baby Einstein Alphabooks have been in this family for so long we almost take them for granted. But they are omnipresent in the playroom while getting the unusual attention that many ever present toys just don’t get.

We’ve had these Baby Einstein alphabet books since our son was about one year old and he’s used and abused them until he was about 2 and a half. And when our daughter was born the books were already around. When she began to notice them they became one of her favorites, and to this day at 21 months she points to the letter “O” and illustration and gently claims, “Octopus.”

I was reminded of these books and great they are by my daughter just this afternoon as she started asking me, “what is this?” then answering, “kangaroo.” She did this several times with butterfly, zebra, octopus, night, nose and banana - she sounds so cute!

The alphabet books set comes with 26 mini board books that are usually six pages long each, showcasing a word and either a photograph or an illustration which can at times be abstract. As I prepared for this review, I reread some of the opinions on amazon and noticed some complaints about the word and accompanying image selection. I’m now going through all the books and am really getting very little in terms of negative imagery improper for even little children. Perhaps some words are represented with paintings that may be too abstract for young minds such as the images for river, boats and orange, but in general our kids responded very well to all the images and now can recite them all.

The Baby Einstein Alphabooks are designed for toddlers ages 18 months and up. By the time our daughter was 18 months she knew all of the alphabet letters and was half way through recognizing all the images of the entire collection.

One thing of main importance is a parent’s interaction. Without it, they’re just a bunch of letters and abstract images. Teaching our kids and enjoying them as they remember and recite each word is half the fun - the other half is knowing that they are genuinely learning new words and concepts, and loving it at the same time.

I have to say that they endured a long time and much use by two very exploratory and sometimes rough children. The box is not as durable, but even that is still standing minus the glue that binds one corner of the box. Besides that, most of the books are riddled with creases and even some bites from our then very young daughter. That’s kind of an accomplishment considering that most of our kids books have been broken by our infamous book destroyer little girl!