Book recommendations for 14 month old, and is it normal at this age to fixate on certain books?

[neontetra]

My dd is 14 months. She has access to lots of books, but tends to fixate on certain ones. She will pick these out, however well hidden, hand them to me or dh, and more or less throws a street party when we open them and start to read them to her. If we try to read her books of our choosing, on the other hand, she generally gets bored and crawls off, or will even slam them shut!
A little while ago, she only liked an In the Night Garden book about Igglepiggle getting lost - I bloody hated that book in the end. Now her tastes are a bit broader. She likes any of those "That's not my..." Touchy-feely ones, anything Peppa Pig (though she's never seen the programme), What a Busy Baby, Sad Dog Happy Dog, and, her utter favourite, Rumble in the Jungle (which is a series of very rhythmic poems about animals, with bright illustrations).
Has anyone got any recommendations of other things she might like, before I go mad and someone finds me in a corner mumbling about how I love to be an elephant just elephing around. And are these fixations normal, and how long will it last?

[schmalex]

My 15-month-old DS loves Dear Zoo and always picks it out. I will have to try Rumble in the Jungle!

[neontetra]

We haven't got that one, so I will have to seek it out. Hopefully the animal theme will appeal! Thanks for the recommendation.

[Carolra]

I think its probably very normal - my 16 mo dd is obsessed by certain books - her favourite at the moment is Charlie and Lola Absolutely Must Go To London. It has a boat in it, when we get to the boat page, she loses her mind with excitment. "Thats not my..." she's keen on as well... the lady that wrote the Gruffalo has also written a bunch of other rhyming ones, I'd get a couple of those, they're a lot more fun to read - The Whale and the Snail is probably my favourite!

[CreatureRetorts]

Sounds like mine! Young toddlers love repetition. It's how they learn.

[MissRainbowBrite]

Try Rainbow Rob, lots of rhyming and touchy feely. Spot is also a favourite in our house.

[Mrdarcyswife]

My dd is a similar age and also fixes on the same books. At the moment it's Where's Spot and Dear Zoo, as she loves lifting the flaps, plus the Hungry Caterpillar. There are several Julia Donaldson books that I know off pat, from my ds was a bit older.

[Hasitfallendownagain]

Hate to tell you this, but the fixating on certain books may last a good while longer! At the moment we are stuck in an endless cycle between Chicken Licken, Each Peach Pear Plum, and Tiger, by Nick Butterworth (at least the last two are quite good). But at that age I think the favourite was If you see a kitten, by John Butler - lots of chance for little ones to join in making different noises, and attractive illustrations. But, let's face it, any book becomes tedious when read for the billionth time

[neontetra]

Lots of great suggestions here, and am pleased in a way to hear she is not unusual in getting fixated (though not so pleased to hear it may continue for some time!) Oh well, there are worse things than a book to be obsessed with, I suppose! Thanks all - I am going to a children's second hand booksale this weekend, so will look out for your recommendations.

[HappyJoyful]

Ten fingers and ten toes - Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury

DD's latest obsession - A Bit Lost: Chris Haughton.

[neontetra]

Thank you Happyjoyful, will look for those too. Since I posted, dd has added another book to her cannon - it is called "Moo on the Farm", and details, in rhyming couplets, the noises farm animals make. I can already recite it, if anyone wants...

[babybythesea]

At that age, DD loved Meg and Mog books. www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=meg%20and%20mog&sprefix=meg%20and%20mog%2Caps%2C335&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

No rhyming but lots of bright colours!

[lljkk]

Rhyming stories, Lynley Dodd, Helen Oxen?bury.

[Parsnipcake]

Dear zoo was a firm favourite here. On eBay you can get story sacks with the animals in ( worked out cheaper and easier than doing it myself) and my toddler lived pulling out the relevant animal and making its noise.

[mixedmamameansbusiness]

I am 32 and regularly get fixated on books.

Absolutely normal though.

[stroppyauthor]

Absolutely normal and important part of development as it helps them grasp predictability and that the story will be the same every time. Nurtures a sense of security and helps with establishing routine, so well worth getting bored with one or two books. I would say, though, that it's worth reading each book you introduce ahead on introducing it so that you can avoid spending 18 months re-reading something you can't bear!

[ShoeJunkie]

DS loves Dear Zoo and Noisy Farm (written by the same person) and One Ted Falls Out Of Bed by Julia Donaldson.
His absolute favourite is Don't Be Cheeky Little Monkey which has textures to feels and flaps to lift. That is the one he can spot at a thousand paces and we end up reading daily!