More fun with books – Child

Books with simple themes help children to better understand the world.

Did you know?

Books can help your child deal with new events and social situations e.g. Starting Kindy, going to the dentist or a pet dying. Ask your librarian for help finding the right books for your family.

By about 3 years old children can usually attend to a story for around 5 minutes at a time.

Add language

Try asking your child to retell parts of the story e.g. “Who sank the boat?”, “What kinds of fruit did the hungry caterpillar eat?”

Talking about letters, sounds and words helps build these concepts needed for reading e.g. “That’s a long word, it’s got lots of letters, let’s count them”; “Those words rhyme, listen, they end with the same sound”; “that’s the letter B, it makes a buh sound.”

Other Development

Sitting in a beanbag or deep chair while sharing a book can be very calming.

Books are a great way to explore a wide range of emotions, behaviour and responses to story events. Some books are specifically about emotions e.g. the “When I’m feeling ….” series. Other books have characters with particular behaviours or emotions e.g. “The Cranky Bear”, “Hugless Douglas.”

Across the ages

All the activities listed on our “Play Ideas” page can be applied across different age groups. Check out books for babies, toddlers and playgroups.

Activities listed under “child” are suitable for children 3 years and older.  Children of this age enjoy more complex activities where they can develop their skills and use their imagination while playing with friends.