Karen Katz Books

Drew is a big fan of Karen Katz and her lift-the-flap book series. Drew's Dad and I also enjoy reading these books with both of our children.



This Baby's Box of Fun is filled with three of our favorite Karen Katz books, all of which we find very useful for common auditory objectives with infants and toddlers. This would include identifying basic commands, understanding the spaciality of body parts and general literacy principals.

Do you have a child that often will not sit still for an entire story? With the lift-the-flap books you can take the story wherever you child wants it to go. Is he interested in lifting the flaps or simply turning the pages? You can narrate everything your child is doing. With Drew we often find ourselves leaving the story to say, "Drew, you're lifting the page up, up, up. Oh, look, there is the baby's belly button. Now, can you put the page down?" These words have helped Drew to learn the difference between up and down, and have helped him understand basic commands, "lift the flap up" and "put the flap down."

We really enjoy using these books to work on the spatiality of body parts. We know that learning body parts is a cognitive skill Drew should be acquiring at this age (17 months). After reading the story on a particular page, we will cease with the story and ask Drew, "Where are the baby's eyes?" We will give Drew a few moments to respond. If he responds correctly we reward with lots of clapping and a high-five. If he does not respond correctly or at all, we will take his finger and point to the baby's eyes. All of these actions are done while auditorally enforcing what we are doing.

General principals of literacy can be achieved by asking the child to turn the page rather than lift the flap. Children will learn that you turn the page after you have completed reading the story on the current page.

We hope that you will enjoy reading these stories with your child. Please feel free to share other ways you have used Karen Katz books.