They discover them, explore them from every angle, cling to them, suck them, chew them and eat them. The baby has understood that the book's words express the world and, to begin with, the mother, father and all those surrounding the baby. It is precisely for this reason that the print sellers have had so much success with babies. They spell out the real, the everyday and make the things and people associated with them present. Books, at the dawn of life, open on to an area as big as the giant of Zeralda, as colourful as the tall stories and as magical and as lively as all those works with holes, pull tabs and hiding places.
Books really are funny things, full of meaning and life.
Unthinkable even such a short time ago and perhaps still so for some, who are sure that babies do not understand anything about the written word. But the 21st century baby is no longer really a baby. A man's little one, a being of desires and words, awakening in those who deal with him, cherish him, care for him and look after him, violent and unfamiliar feelings and emotions. A being of desires and words Babies are therefore entitled to culture, early on. They are entitled to a history and to stories, to play with words, language and to tear up books as well.