With the weather turning colder, families will be spending an increasing amount of time indoors together. Reading together is a wonderful way to spend some of that time. Not only can it bring your family closer together, but reading with your child will go a long way toward helping him or her become a good reader. Kathleen Deerr, National Coordinator for Family Place Libraries™ (an early literacy and family support initiative of Middle Country Library and Libraries for the Future, in New York), gave her helpful tips for choosing books, reading together, and engaging the entire family in family reading time.
We receive a lot of questions from parents on how to choose books for their children. What should parents keep in mind when they walk into their local library or bookstore?
Select books that match the developmental level and interests of the child. Look for books that promote interaction between the reader and the child listening to the story. Books with strong illustrations lend themselves to conversations about the characters and predicting what will happen on the next page or later on in the story. Choosing books that a child can relate to (such as going to the park, the seasons, or animals) encourages your child to participate in the story and the story will be sure to keep his or her interest. Librarians are a good resource for suggestions and often have book lists available for every age range and interest.
It is often recommended to choose books that are "developmentally appropriate" for your child. What does that term mean?
Choosing developmentally appropriate books means choosing books that fit a child's current stage of development. If you are not sure which books are appropriate for your child, your local children's librarian is a great resource. Librarians will work with you to find books that will work well with your child's age and interests.
Please give us a few things to look for when choosing books for various age ranges.
Infants
Infants explore their world through their senses. Look for books with simple clear bold pictures or photographs of everyday objects, animals and faces on contrasting solid backgrounds as well as books with simple sounds (i.e. animal sounds). For older infants, holding, touching and feeling books add additional sensory experiences. The rhythm of simple nursery rhymes is also very engaging for infants.
Toddlers
Look for sturdy board books with simple plots that do not have to be read in order. Board books (books with thick cardboard pages) fit nicely into little hands and allow your child to discover books by touching and feeling the pages. Board books allow toddlers to flip from page 1 to page 5 without damaging the book or interrupting the storyline. Children like to point to objects and have parents label them. While reading through the book, parents can engage their child by pointing out shapes, colors and objects and asking simple questions about what the characters are doing or saying.
Preschoolers
Parents can introduce picture books with full storylines on a variety of topics. Keep in mind that children at this age still love repetition in stories. Knowing this, parents can look for books with repeated refrains in the text (children learn to listen for the repeated phrases and grow excited to help the reader finish the sentence) .
Kindergarten and First Graders
Children at this age are beginning to learn to read for themselves. However, at this stage a child's listening skills are more advanced than their reading skills. Taking this into consideration, parents can begin to introduce books that have complex storylines (like simple chapter books) as well as rotate in familiar simple books their child can attempt to read independently.
How can parents who read to more than one child at a time keep everyone interested?
Reading together as a family can be one of the best ways to promote family togetherness. All children should be encouraged to ask questions throughout the story and predict what might happen on the next page. This is also a great opportunity for older children to be encouraged to read to younger children. Depending on the ages of the younger children, they might not be able to sit still for an entire story. Parents should keep them involved with the family activity by giving them a puzzle to play with or letting them look through another book. The act of reading together provides children with loving, enjoyable and nurturing experiences. These experiences enable children to develop positive and fun attitudes towards books and reading.
One of my favorite memories as a child was listening to my mother read stories to us while we were on long family car trips. Outside of reading on the couch and at bedtime, are there other places where family reading time can take place?
Everywhere! Parents should make it a habit to bring books everywhere they go. Have books in the car, bring books to the grocery store, and pack books for the morning subway or bus ride. Always having a book handy turns a long line at the supermarket or wait at the mechanic into some special time together rather than the alternative. And, it will help your child build a life long love of books and reading.
For families that speak and read in more than one language, do you have any suggestions for choosing books?
Yes, bilingual families have the benefit of exploring the same story in both languages with their young readers. I recommend going to the library and checking out a story like, Eric Carle's, The Very Hungry Caterpillar in two different languages. While reading each story, parents can assist their child in recognizing familiar words and practice labeling pictures in each language. Families have many choices when choosing books in several languages. Multi- and bilingual picture books, board books, and fairy tales are available in the children's section of most libraries. For parents who do not read or speak English, sharing books in their native language is crucial for their child's early literacy development.
How can cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents join in on family reading time?
A fun way to introduce new stories to family reading time is to encourage family members to read a story they loved when they were a child. Young children enjoy when their grandparents read stories they used to read when their children were young. These stories encourage families to talk about what it was like when they were young, and teaches children that reading is an important family activity.
You have given us some great ideas for reading together as a family. Any final thoughts before we rush out to our local libraries or bookstores?
Yes, the holidays are a busy time for every family. With all of the excitement and family obligations, taking time to read together often gets buried on the list of priorities. For a stress relief activity, I recommend parents set aside a few minutes to read with their children. Taking a few minutes to sit down and curl up with a story is one way to slow the pace of the holidays and give your child a few minutes of your undivided attention between events. Both parent and child will savor the time spent together.
More tips for parents: Choosing books for your childInfants:
Toddlers:
Preschoolers:
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For more information about Family Place Libraries, go to www.familyplacelibraries.org.