When my son was little, we went to the library every week. He’d look at the books for a while but then often wanted to run his toy cars around the edges of the bookshelves, so rather than pressure him to choose I’d pick most of the six books for the week. And if I liked them too, I could put my enthusiasm into reading them, with silly voices for characters and gasps at surprises. I could be as daft as I liked and of course he loved that.
We would read one a day at bedtime, sometimes lingering over illustrations with lots of details, talking about what we discovered. On the seventh day he would pick his favourite for a second read. Often, those favourites will come home on many other occasions too and become stories that they never forget.
Reading bedtime stories was time set aside as a relaxing end to the day when I could also take a little quiet time, without hurrying. The most important thing about reading together seemed to be the opportunity to share the enjoyment of stories. There are so many valuable things going on during that closeness and shared time without trying hard to make it into something that has to be achieved or educational.
We are fortunate that there are so many talented writers and illustrators, and there is so much to be enjoyed in the stories and reading together.
My top tips for sharing picture-books:
1. Spend time in the library choosing without pressure on either of you.
2. Set aside time, without hurrying, so that you and your children know to expect a quiet, relaxing and enjoyable time.
3. Nobody else is watching so you can add your own character voices too.
4. If you are asked to read the same book again and again, it means they loved it. But don’t skip pages; they’ll know!
5. Enjoy story-time too!
Sarah Lean, Author of 12 children’s books, including bestseller A Dog Called Homeless, and Waterstones Book of the Month The Good Bear.