Kid Story Books - Their Benefit, and How to Choose The Best Ones

And what's better to read than a book ?

Your child is definitely going to be much better off if she loves reading more than she loves watching television. Indeed, children who develop a love of reading and read widely are much more ahead than their peers.

Why is that ?

Reading requires an active mind. A reader is required to both read and imagine the situation described in the book. Contrast this with watching television ! When watching television, the mind is more passive since the mind does not need to imagine anything; everything is laid out in form of pictures.

Think about this. When you go home from work, which one you would prefer to do to unwind yourself? Watching the Simpsons, or reading Charles Dickens novel ? Or ,how many times do you find your child sitting with jaw dropping when reading versus when watching television ?

Therefore, early introduction to book is very important. You don't even have to wait until your child understands kid story books in order to introduce a book. You can start right at babyhood. Although your baby cannot yet understand the story, she will be able to enjoy the pictures. Therefore, it's best to start with a baby picture book

When your child reaches two and can more or less understand language, you may want to start reading kid story books to her.

So what are ideal kid story books for toddlers and preschoolers ?

• Lots of pictures, few words. You can add more words as they get older.
• Contain rhyme.
• Very simple plot.
• Teaching good characters.
• Contain an easy-to-understand language.
• Resistant to everyday's onslaught. Board books (for toddlers) or hard-cover books (for preschoolers) are the best.

Encourage your children to love books and learn to read by having a lot of read-aloud sessions. Here are the things you can do to get the most out of your reading session:

• Pick a comfortable place to read (sofa, bed, etc) and cuddle your children. This way, they will associate reading with something nice and cozy; and will look forward to reading session
• Do impression to make the story alive.
• Discuss what you have read by asking the child short questions. When your child is older (elementary-school age), you can ask her to narrate back the story.

How about older children ?

If you do regular read-aloud session with them since they are young, by the time they are around 5 years old, they would want to learn to read. Start with a simple phonics book and incorporate lots of phonics games. When they start to read, you may want to get beginner reader books for them to practice.

However, nothing can stop them from enjoying kid story books which are beyond their levels --- if you keep on reading to them.

What's an ideal story book for an older child ?

• Less or no picture, lots of words.
• Age-appropriate difficulty in both language and story plot.
• Teaching good characters.
• Does not teach sex and violence.

Happy reading !!

Back to Homepage