For young children who are developing their literacy skills and knowledge it is important to choose stories that will capture a child's interest and imagination through its bright colorful pictures, its story line (plot) and its use of language. At an early age children love rhyming text and this is very good for supporting children's predictions of text (words) and in developing knowledge about families of words (word patterns - e.g. like, bike, hike, Mike).
Books with a few lines of words on each page work best but in saying that don't eliminate reading longer stories. Just think about your child and their capabilities. Can they concentrate long enough to read the story? Is the story captivating enough that their attention span will last?
Books with humour are enjoyed by young children particularly from 3years onwards. They also love stories where some problem is solved. They enjoy stories that have lots of excitement and suspense moments. Animals that talk appeal as do the stories that contain real experiences that they can relate to.
Non-fiction books should not be overlook because young children are very curious to know about real things and events as well as the imaginative ones.
Traditional tales which are well known such as The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and Red Riding Hood are also well loved by young children. And be sure to include New Zealand books that reflect our unique bicultural identity when reading. Children also love to read about other cultures that are different from their own.
Well known authors or book series can also be fun to read with your child. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd is one such series which young children seem to adore and DR Suess remains a solid favourite author of children.
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