Baby's First Library

This tremendous trio of Margaret Wise Brown's tried-and-true board books is virtually guaranteed to delight babies and toddlers. The Runaway Bunny, illustrated by Clement Hurd, is a comforting testimony to a parent's unconditional love and protection: "'If you run away,' said his mother, 'I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.'" Goodnight Moon walks a child through a hypnotically soothing bedtime ritual of naming familiar objects in a room (and finding the little mouse that keeps popping up); and the melodic Big Red Barn, with illustrations by Felicia Bond, is a colorful foray into farm life: "By the big red barn / In the great green field, / There was a pink pig / Who was learning to squeal." In the end, the barnyard animals are all asleep, and if you're lucky, your favorite toddlers will be, too. A wonderful first-book collection.