Choosing the right books to read for your child or for your child to read on their own might seem like a challenge but not if you consider what your child is naturally interested in at each stage of their development. Your child will go through a fairy phase, a princess phase and quickly move on to a superhero phase and so on.
To help you navigate the world of the most appropriate books for your child, many childrens books come with an age-appropriate label, making the task easier for you. You can use the guideline below to help you with your selection before purchasing.
The first thing you can do is to check if the book you are looking to purchase is age appropriate for your child. If you are choosing a book for your child to read, make sure the book can be easily read and understood by your child. Even though the book may come with a recommended age label, each child develops at a different rate and your child’s requirements need to be considered despite the age-appropriate labelling. If your child is ready to read by themselves, then choose a book that will challenge their reading and comprehension skills without it being frustrating – you don’t want it to be demotivating.
Give some thought to the subject matter of the book you plan to purchase for your child. While it should be appealing to your child, as a general rule young children appreciate stories that revolve around their own experiences and how they view the world. It could be about a child and their pet dog or about a family of bears and what they get up to for example. As a child gets older stories that revolve around fantasy become exciting to read about. You will know what kind of themes your child gravitates towards in their everyday life – take a cue from that.
Before purchasing the book, give the broad storyline some thought and ask yourself if the moral of the story or the theme of the story will resonate with your child and more importantly what your child will learn or learn to appreciate as a result of reading the book. What you want your child to pick up from the book will be different at each developmental stage of the child’s life. While alphabet skills and stories depicting feelings like happiness, anger, and sadness will be important for preschoolers for older children, booksthat build language skills in the areas of vocabulary and pronunciation will play an important role.
While you will evaluate a book from various angles for its functional value, give thought to what your child will appreciate as well. They just want an exciting book to read that will keep them engaged from start to finish and possibly provide material for discussion with friends and you. Illustrations, pictures, and familiar characters including superheroes will all serve to engage your child in the book.
