Baby Shower Gift Books

The new parents will receive five blankets, a mountain of onesies in newborn size, and at least two diaper cakes. What almost nobody brings to a baby shower or godh bharai is the thing the child will use every single day for years: books.

Books make unexpectedly perfect baby shower gifts. They do not expire when the baby grows three centimetres. They give exhausted new parents something lovely to do during midnight feeds — reading aloud starts from day one, and a newborn settles to the rhythm of a parent's reading voice long before the pictures mean anything. And a book inscribed with a note from you becomes a keepsake in a way a romper never will.

For an Indian baby, books that carry the culture are an even better start. The Miko books put Hindi and English side by side from the very first page, so the baby grows up hearing both languages as one warm stream — and the gods, festivals, and animals of an Indian childhood are there waiting as the child grows into them.

Bring one book with a handwritten message inside the cover, or bring the complete set and gift the entire first shelf. The blankets will be outgrown by Diwali; your gift will be read for years.