Three small fabric books, boxed as a set, garden themed and built around Jeanne the Cat.

The size is the thing most first books get wrong. These are made for a three-month-old: small enough to grip, light enough to lift and soft enough to mouth without anyone worrying about it.

Crinkle elements give the pages a sound, the prints are high contrast because that is what young eyesight resolves, and the fabrics vary so there is something to find with fingertips. They prop open on the floor, which makes them one of the better tummy-time props: there is a reason to lift the head and reach.

Machine washable at 30 degrees on a gentle cycle. Presented boxed as a birth gift.

Lilliputiens is a Belgian brand, founded in 1995 and designed by a team largely made up of parents working alongside early-childhood specialists. Tested to EN71 and ASTM standards and screened for AZO dyes, cadmium and phthalates.

THREE BOOKS, THREE SUBJECTS - A set rather than a single title, so there is variety from the start and something to reach for when one has been thoroughly chewed.

SIZED FOR A BABY, NOT A TODDLER - Small, light fabric books a three-month-old can actually hold, grip and mouth. Most first books are too big for the hands they are given to.

CRINKLE, CONTRAST AND TEXTURE - Sound in the pages, high-contrast prints pitched at developing eyesight and varied fabrics for fingertips. Three senses working at once.

EXCELLENT FOR TUMMY TIME - Props open on the floor and gives a baby a reason to lift their head and reach forward, which is the hardest part of making tummy time work.

PRESENTED AS A BIRTH GIFT - Comes boxed as a set, which makes it a genuinely thoughtful new-baby present rather than another soft toy. Machine washable at 30 degrees on a gentle cycle.

3 months and above

100% polyester fabric with crinkle elements; recycled polyester filling

JEANNE SET OF 3 SENSORY BOOKS