Tips on Reading and Choosing Books with Young Children
Tips on Reading with Young Children
- Make time to read to children every day.
- Talk to children about the pictures as you read the book.
- Ask children questions about the story and to predict what may happen next.
- Read with expression, changing your voice for different characters and situations.
- Let children see you read your own books, magazines or newspapers.
- Help children choose and check-out a variety of books at the library. Ask a librarian for help in finding books that are age-appropriate and interest them.
- Reach children's favorite books over and over again. Children learn through repetition.
- Make your home a place where stories are shared.
- Most of all have fun and enjoy reading with your children.
Tips on Choosing Books for Children
Building a book collection with lots of variety will make reading with children enjoyable and will open their eyes to new ideas about the world around them. When choosing books for children, asking the questions can help you find high-quality, educational books.
- Will you and the child enjoy these books?
- Does your book involve things your children like to do or things they are experiencing?
- Is the print large enough for children to follow along as you read?
- Does the book use language that children can understand and introduce new experiences?
- Does the book celebrate the sounds of language by using rhymes, catchy phrases, or silly sounds?
- Will the illustrations or photographs catch children's imaginations and help them to understand the text?
- Does the book introduce children to different cultures, languages, and ways of life?
- Is there a variety of books that represent different races, genders, ages, abilities?
- Do the relationships in the story encourage positive interactions, such as cooperation and problem solving?
- Does your book collection include a variety of books, including poetry, rhyming and non-rhyming books, folk-tales, picture books, predictable books, fairy tales, song books, and informational books?
- Does your collection include books in the language(s) that your children speak at home
Adapted from the educational resources Learn and Grow with Sesame Workshop: From Language to Literacy.
