Under-5s
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A lot is said about the importance of reading - it is often described as the "greatest gift" you can give your child
or the "golden key" to their future education and well-being. |
Since we represent a library service you won't be surprised to hear that we agree with this principle, but never overlook the fact that reading together is one of the best experiences you can share with your child.
I write for a moment, in personal terms, that one of my best experiences as a parent was when my eldest daughter started to read for herself - and shared with me the thrill she felt about reading "in her head". It was also one of the saddest moments because it spelt the end of a time of joint reading (that I had not expected to enjoy as much as I did).
I admit that sometimes when I was very tired I would begin to lose consciousness at key times in the story, but a gentle elbow in my rib soon brought me around and got me back on track. I would not swap those times for anything.
A lot depends on the stories and there are so many good picture books and stories available now that it is difficult not to find something that you can both enjoy. That is part of the point of the experience.
Reading together can help you to communicate with your child and the best stories work on levels that appeal to children and parents (like the best films). Some of them allow you to deal with issues you need to discuss or think about, but a lot are just fun.
I can highly recommend the Jill Murphy stories about the Large family, a bear that goes to the moon and other characters. They are short, simple and beautifully written stories that children enjoy and parents usually identify with.
Other memorable books include the following examples from the useful "Mrs Mad" site
Guess how much I love you by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram (published by Walker Books) and Tell me something happy before I go to sleep by Joyce Dunbar, illustrated by Debi Gliori (published by Picture Corgi) are just a nice, "warm" and re-assuring stories.
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Jill Murphy's book The Last Noo-Noo (published by Walker in 1997) is a very funny treatment of the difficulty of weaning children off dummies.
The Teddy Bear Robber is a funny story about a giant stealing teddy bears from children's home - read it to find our why (published by Picture Corgi in 1989)
If you want something more challenging for a child in between simple stories and reading for themselves try these "deeper" tales:
Amy Hest's When Jessie came across the sea (illustrated by P J Lynch and published by Walker in 1997) is an interesting story of a young girl emigrating to America and growing up.
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomy (published by Walker in 1996) is a very moving story about a widower and the special gift he made for Christmas.
Amy Hest wrote a very different story in the popular You're the Boss Baby Duck! (published by Walker in 1996). This is another good story about relationships between children in the family.
There is a sadness reading Martin Waddell's book Once There Were Giants, (illustrated by Penny Dale and published by Walker Books) because it is all about growing up, but it is worth doing to help any child see how they fit into a family.
A lot of stories re-tell or subvert traditional stories or characters. Tony Bradman and Margaret Chamberlain do that very well in Look out, he's behind you! and Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? (both published by Mammoth. The first in 1988 and the other in 1989). This type of story can be a lot of fun, but not necessarily the best preparation for sleep.
More fun can be had with books like When Mum Turned into a Monster by Joanna Harrison (published by Collins in 1996) - a really funny story about a mum at the end of her tether, but with a useful message.
By (calmer) contrast, The Baby who wouldn't go to bed by Helen Cooper (published by Doubleday in 1996) is a richly illustrated story that can be used to relax a child and help them to wind down.
Simpler books like Sleep Tight in the Sesame Street series (published by Reed in 1998) or Can't You Sleep Little Bear by Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth (published by Walker in 1988) can also help children to settle by being familiar and welcome part of the bedtime routine.
Martin Waddell is on a "generally dependable" list that includes Nick Butterworth and Jill Murphy
While we can help you by offered a choice of hundreds of new books, it is worth buying some personal copies of favourite books (try them with us first) that your children can read and re-read and form part of their bedtime or other routines. |
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Our section about services for children in the "What the Library Offers" section of this site gives a number of helpful links if you want to learn more. Click here to see an example.
Geraint James
Head of Libraries
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