Have a look in libraries and charity and secondhand shops; talk to teachers, friends, your child’s friends and their parents; or go online to look at reading platforms there. The world really is awash with good and interesting things to read – booksellers do not have a monopoly on this. And remember, all reading is good reading, so include comics, magazines, graphic novels, even newspapers as they get older.
As your child develops interests you can pick up on these as ways into reading. Everything they enjoy can be used to inspire them to read, from interests and hobbies to having favourite authors and choosing more by the same person, to getting into a series and working through it, to reading books that mirror experiences like the first time on a plane or at the dentist. Once you start thinking about all the things your child experiences and is involved in, you will find inspiration for new reading material.
Think about what interests your child and what he or she is good at. Whatever it is, you will be sure to find something appealing to read that reflects their enthusiasms. This should motivate them and inspire them to read. Of course interests come and go, but there is always something to reflect their current fascination or obsession. Here are some suggestions of different types of reading material for a range of ages. This list is really the tip of the iceberg; there is masses of choice out there, both fiction and information books, and something interesting for even the most picky child to read. I do hope it gives you some ideas.
• If your child loves to draw, do jigsaw puzzles or read maps, then they might enjoy books with maps, lots of illustrations and interactivity. At picture book age The Jolly Postman might fit the bill; at older ages the Tintin series or Shaun Tan books such as The Arrival. Try the Big Picture Press’ Maps book.
• If your child loves being active, playing sport, dancing, or doing things with their hands, try books about children that are like them. Perhaps the Football Academy series, or a classic such as Ballet Shoes. For non-fiction consider The Football Book or Stitch-by-Stitch.
• If they are obsessed with a character on TV, look out for books and magazines about them.
• If your child loves music and rhythm, read them nursery rhyme books when they are young, and poems as they get older. Try the Jump up and Join in books by Carrie and David Grant. Rhyming picture books are fantastic, for example Cats Ahoy by Peter Bently, anything by Julia Donaldson, The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord and Janet Burroway. For older children, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot is great fun.
• If they love interacting with people, then books about families and friendship might click: My Big Shouting Day! by Rebecca Patterson, Dave and the Tooth Fairy by Verna Allette Wilkins, Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent by Lauren Child, Dogger by Shirley Hughes, The Most Impossible Parents by Brian Patten, Grandpa Chatterji by Jamila Gavin or Coming to England by Floella Benjamin. For teens, try books such as The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden or The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks.
• If your child loves words and enjoys playing with words and sounds, you could try Silly Verse for Kids by Spike Milligan, Noisy Poems by Jill Bennett, or Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes.
• If your child loves gaming, there are even books about that too – strategy books for older children, guide books and so on. Try the Minecraft books.
• If they are fascinated about how things work, plenty of factual books fit the bill. Try the Usborne See Inside series. Or Egmont’s In One End and Out the Other.
• If your child is logical and analytical, likes to experiment and solve puzzles, then at a young age they might like search and find books. When they get older consider puzzle books: try Logic Puzzles by Sarah Khan, and for teens perhaps mysteries such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, or Mummies: Mysteries of the Ancient World by Paul Harrison.
• If your child is fascinated by the natural world then factual nature books might click. For example Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is? by Robert E. Wells, and for the older child My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. Also try books about animals, such as Hammy the Wonder Hamster by Poppy Harris and Varjak Paw by S. F. Said.
• If they love a film or TV series, seek out the book it’s based on, for example The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson.
• If your child is technology mad, see if reading digitally is inspiring for them. Got a teen who loves their phone and texting? Try Txtng: The Gr8 Db8 by David Crystal.
For more suggestions see here.
EXPERT VIEW
Finding the right hook to engage a child in a book is difficult to plan as it may depend on the child’s mood at the time. However, you can validate their interests and personalities by introducing books that reflect their interests and that are accessible for them in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure. This will pay dividends and help with holistic development, not just literacy. Books with characters that a child can relate to can enhance inter- and intra-personal intelligence and those with problems to solve can develop logical thinking skills. Visually descriptive books, with maps and routes, can engage spatial intelligence skills, and traditional goody and baddy books can promote the development of morality.
Dr Amanda Gummer
Help Your Child Love Reading is a book born out of my passionate belief that establishing a love of reading for pleasure is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child. I know my own experience as a mum and that of others I meet in the course of my work bear this out completely. If there is one thing that comes of writing this book, I’d like it to be for parents to realise their involvement really really matters. You absolutely can make a difference to your child’s enjoyment of reading and it will bring your family so much happiness. I wish you every success. Believe me, it’s worth it.
Alison David, May 2014
You may have tangible wealth untold,
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I, you can never be –
I had a Mother who read to me.
‘The Reading Mother’, Strickland Gillilan
EXPERT VIEW
Recreational screen time is children’s main waking activity. By the age of seven, the average child born today will have spent one full year of 24-hour days watching recreational screen media. It’s hardly a coincidence that at the same time reading continues to decline.
Dr Aric Sigman, biologist and psychologist
Lurking
