Our dog, Poe, and his almost eponymous book, Edgar Gets Ready for Bed.

When I first heard of the BabyLit series of books a few years ago, I was immediately taken by their charm and overall concept. I was in baby mode and to see a children’s board book that was derived from literary classics made me so excited. And the design and illustrations! I wanted every single one (not just for Theo, but for me) and thought they were the perfect baby gift.

I am a self-identified Jane Austen fanatic so to have several of her novels BabyLit-ified was gratifying to see. So many of my other favorites (Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina) also got the BabyLit treatment. The books were geared towards young children as “primers” on number, opposites, etc, but also gave a nod to the parent reading the book who was familiar with the original literary source. Check out how cute these are:

The Dashwood sisters: Single and Married

Suitors from Sense & Sensibility

Pride and Prejudice: 4 Marriage Proposals

When I discovered that the author of the books was local to Salt Lake City, I couldn’t believe it. My favorite independent bookstore, The King’s English, was holding a book signing event and that’s when I met Jennifer Adams and realized she lived here. She is the embodiment of these books: charming, lovely and erudite. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her better and seeing her passion for writing and literature in person.

She continues to write for the BabyLit series and just released her first “early reader” book, Edgar Gets Ready for Bed. In this book, Edgar is the name of a raven (nod to Edgar Allen Poe) who balks at having to go to bed, much like many young children we know. She will be having a book launch storytime on Saturday, April 12 at 11am at The King’s English. Drop by and listen to the story and pick up a few (or all) of the BabyLit books while you’re at it!