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The message is clear:
reading to your child early on and often is one of the best ways to ensure
language development, to help forge a close and nurturing bond and to instill a
lifetime love of words and reading.
But when it comes time
to choose what to read with children, parents often draw a blank. Many of the
places families visit—e.g. bookstores and libraries—display a vast array of
books specifically aimed at the under-five audience. Some are classics from
parents’ own childhoods; others are more recent ones that have won literary
awards. Some are based on characters from popular children’s television shows;
others include buttons which play a musical accompaniment to the text.
With so much to choose
from, it’s understandable that parents are left shaking their heads and
wondering whether one book is better than the next. Jennifer Birckmayer,
co-author of Bookstart: Selected Activities for Babies, Toddlers and Young
Children, says those that include beautiful illustrations and inspired story
lines truly are more enriching than those that offer nothing more than ads for
trendy characters. When choosing books to share with your child, Birckmayer
suggests that parents apply the same high standards they would to choosing a
well balanced diet for their family. Just as fresh fruits, vegetables and whole
grains help encourage healthy bodies, reading selections based on certain
quality standards are key to helping a child’s imagination and love of reading
grow.
Who gets
to choose?
Birckmayer says that
for some young children, literary decision-making can be overwhelming. If left
up to the child, the decision might come down to identification with a familiar
television character rather than whether the book meets the types of criteria
outlined at right. For this reason, Birckmayer suggests using caution when
taking your child along to purchase books.
If a library is
convenient, Birckmayer suggests that you and your child go together. But it
doesn’t always have to be a family outing. When her own children were young,
she and her family lived far from the nearest library, making frequent trips
difficult. As a result, her husband would stop on the way home from work and
bring home armloads of new books to share with their children. Not only was this
more convenient for the family, but it allowed him the time to carefully choose
the books and made for an anticipated and exciting event.
Here are
some questions that parents can use as guidelines when selecting books for preschoolers:
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Is the book
durable, i.e. is it made from materials that will withstand repeated
readings, chewing, handlings? This is an important quality to consider
when choosing books for very young children.
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Is the book safe
for a young child to handle (no small parts or sharp corners) and made
from non-toxic materials?
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Is the book
about objects, animals, events or people that children can recognize from
their own life? Babies and very young children often
find books with faces and photographs of children like themselves involved
in day-to-day activities fascinating. ("Hey, that little boy has
purple boots just like me!") Birckmayer says these types of books
help children make the connection that books can hold personal and
intimate meaning for them.
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Are the
illustrations clear and appealing to a young child? Birckmayer says that
what might appeal to an adult’s sense of beauty may be too overwhelming
to a young child. For this reason, she recommends starting very young
children off with books featuring one or two main objects on a page
surrounded with plenty of blank space. As children mature and their
interests and attention spans expand, books with more detailed
illustrations can be added to their repertoire.
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If the book has
words or sentences, are they short and simple to understand? As with
illustrations, the text will be more meaningful if it doesn’t confuse or
overwhelm the child. Birckmayer says books that reflect the types of
people and activities that are like those the child regularly experiences
provide a sense of comfort and familiarity. Many young children prefer
books with realistic story lines for most of their early childhood. Once a
child is secure in his or her world, books with fanciful story lines and
magical characters become more appropriate. Books such as Where the Wild
Things Are by Maurice Sendak and Aesop’s Fables fall into this category.
Birckmayer suggests using the child’s temperament to determine when to
begin adding fantasy books to his/her library.
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Does your
child’s reading selection contain books that will help him/her learn
about people of many ages and from a variety of cultures? Do they avoid
stereotypical portrayals of people?
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Does the book
reflect your own family’s values?
Helping
children create their own books
Although there are
many wonderfully written and beautifully illustrated books available for young
children, one way of ensuring that your child will find a book meaningful is to make
one together. The following are some ideas for fun bookmaking projects you can
do with your children including suggestions for household and craft materials
that are readily and inexpensively available. (Remember to use caution when
making books for young children that the materials used are safe and
toxin-free):
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Make a book
featuring family and friends by slipping pictures of the people special to
your child into an inexpensive photo album.
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Bind together a
series of your child’s illustrations by using a three-hole punch,
reinforcing the holes with circular tabs and tying the pages together with
yarn. Have your child dictate the text for the book.
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Use leftover
holiday cards interspersed with photographs of your child during holiday
celebrations as the basis for a keepsake book
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Key into your
child’s particular interests. If zoo animals are a favorite, scour the
pages of magazines for pictures of lions, polar bears and orangutans. With
older children this can become a fun scavenger hunt. Photos can be mounted
using glue sticks or paste on oak tag, cardboard or construction paper
(with one photo per page for very young children and groups or collages of
photos for older children). To insure durability, individual pages can be
laminated or preserved with clear contact paper before binding. Older
children may like illustrating the cover or margins of pages and
dictating, or writing, the text for their book.
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Meaningful
photos and words can be slipped inside a series of colorful, ready-made
plastic pencil cases designed for three-ring binders. These can then be
held together with metal o-rings. Photos and pictures can be added or
replaced as the child’s interests change or evolve.
What books
can do for children:
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Books can help
children feel safe and secure (as a daily activity, reading can reinforce
feelings of safety and comfort when books are about characters that the
child can relate to).
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Books help
children feel they belong to a family or group.
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Books help
children learn about love and may even help them feel loved themselves.
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Books help
children understand what it feels like to do something important.
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Books help
children find out about things that are interesting to them.
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Books can be
fun.
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Books show
children beautiful pictures and good writing.
Source:
Bookstart:
Selected Activities for Babies, Toddlers and Young Children
>
Back
For
permission to reprint this article, please contact the
Capital Region BOCES Communications Service at (518)
464-3960.
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