under-threes engage, says Charlotte Goddard
When it comes to sharing books with the under-threes, the book itself is less important than the way you use it -but some books are more suitable than others. Sharing books with very young children is not about teaching them letters; it is an opportunity for interaction and communication between child and early years practitioner, and a chance to share a snuggle while reading.
Opal Dunn, author and literacy specialist, describes the process of sharing a book with a child as one where the adult is mediating between the child and the book, enabling the child to enjoy and engage with the pictures and text. 'Positive feeling depend on how much and how well the adult mediates the book,' she says.
Over-mediation and explanation can kill the child's own creativity and limit imagination, particularly when sharing books with older children. But with babies, says early years consultant Nancy Stewart, 'there should be a lot of commenting about what we see on the page'.
If the adult chooses a book they like, their presentation will probably be better, but the process should also be child-centred, often allowing the child to choose the book, when to turn the page - a look at the adult is often a good indication - and even when the book is finished.
The adult should also feel free to go off on a tangent following their interest and that of the child. 'If there is a picture of a spider you could do a hand wriggle and act it out,' says Ms Stewart.
While books for babies and toddlers need to be quite robust, just because a publisher has decided to release a story as a board book does not mean the content is suitable for that age group. Although some 'extras' like flaps and mirrors can be highly beneficial, others - such as having lots of noise-making buttons down the side of a book - can distract both the baby and the reader and limit interaction between the two.
'There is an increase in good books now available for babies and young children, with some publishers specialising in this area,' says Ms Dunn. 'There is a large choice of books identifying objects, but too few first stories with simple text and easy-to-decode illustrations.' There are also fewer complicated pop-up books which have become expensive to produce.
There is certainly a lot of activity in the baby and young children market. Penguin-owned Ladybird imprint publishes the Baby Touch range, for birth to age two. Its latest issue is Busy Baby, aimed at under-ones, an interactive board book following a busy baby in a red car as she journeys across the pages. Meanwhile, Templar, publisher of the Amazing Baby range, is republishing its bestselling baby books from the past ten years, which mix photographs, pictures and interactive elements with bold colours and patterns. Other publishers to be aware of include Priddy Books, Nosy Crow, Baby Walker, Child's Play, Campbell Books and Boxer Books.
WHERE TO LOOK
When sourcing books for your nursery, check out the following.
- Try a range of different bookshops, including chains and independents, as well as looking in department stores such as John Lewis.
- Publishers', authors' and booksellers' websites. 'Many teachers may not live near bookshops or have no time to visit and browse,' says Ms Dunn. 'Bookshops only take from certain publishers and then the choice is up to a buyer, who may not have any qualifications in early years.'
- Bookstart (www.bookstart.com), the Book Trust's charity that aims to encourage early engagement with books, has a Book Finder, suggesting books based on age and theme, and a Professionals section, including downloadable resources.
- The Bookseller has a children's section which brings the latest news in the children's publishing world (www.thebookseller.com/news/childrens).
- Newspaper review sections, such as www.theguardian.com/books/childrens-books-7-and-under and www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/children_sbookreviews.
WHAT TO BUY
Look for hand-held size or slightly bigger books, with easy-to-turn pages for self-browsing. A range of different fabrics come with different challenges - board books are robust but heavy, while paper has a special smell and texture but needs to be looked after so it does not crease or tear.
BOOKS FOR BABIES
Children develop at different rates so a rigid approach to what book is suitable for which age group is not the best way forward. However, there are a number of different kinds of books that are suitable for babies:
- Books with black and white or high-contrast illustrations. Babies can only see in black and white for the first few months and are then most attracted to high-contrast primary colours. However, the jury is out on whether black and white books actually help visual sense develop more than other pictures.
- Books that fold out like a concertina can help babies' development by giving them something to look at during tummy time, or in their cot.
- Books with pictures or photos of faces, especially of other babies doing things. The reader can help the baby make the connection- making splash noises for a baby in a bath, for example.
- Books that help babies to identify objects should have realistic illustrations, or photographs. 'Babies do not yet recognise that a two-dimensional image is supposed to represent something in the real world,' says Ms Stewart. 'The more abstract the drawing, the more difficult it is for them to recognise it.' Pictures of single familiar objects such as a cup or a banana can be most effective at this age.
- Nursery rhymes and similar rhyming books are suitable even for the youngest babies. The rhythm, repetition and intonation help children to anticipate what is coming next.
- Books with flaps allow babies to play Peekaboo. Babies are likely to put books in their mouths, so safety is important. 'We safety test all our board books to the highest industry standard,' says Nicola Bird, senior editor at Ladybird. 'They are dye-fast and if there is a flap we try to position it so it won't come off as soon as the baby grabs it.'
Recommendations for this age group
- Double-Sided First Book (Tiny Love)
- Amazing Baby Twinkle Twinkle and Amazing Baby Peek-a-Boo Baby! (Templar)
- Baby Touch Busy Baby (Ladybird).
- The Bright Baby series (Priddy Books)
- Clap Your Hands by David Ellwand (Handprint Books)
- Colours to Touch series (Yoyo Books)
BOOKS FOR TODDLERS
By the age of 18 months, children can start to grasp the idea of a plot, aided by the intonation of the reader, and start to look forward to certain elements of the story. Things to look out for include the following:
- Flap books, which help toddlers develop their pincer movements
- Books with finger trails or textures encourage toddlers to draw their hand along the page. 'At 18 months children are in a fever pitch of development,' says Ms Bird. 'Textures can be smaller as they are touching with a finger, not a whole hand.'
- Simple and repetitive text is still important. Rhyme plays a major part in speech development as it helps children understand the pattern of speech, while repetition can build memory skills and encourage participation.
- Look for books featuring animals, or objects which make different noises, allowing the reader and child to make the noises.
- Books that share experiences can help toddlers make sense of new events such as potty training or the arrival of a new sibling.
Recommendations for this age include
- Guess Who? by Yusuke Yonezu (Minedition)
- Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett (Macmillan Children's Books)
- Can You Say It Too? Quack Quack by Sebastien Braun (Nosy Crow)
BOOKS FOR WALKERS
- Two-year-olds benefit from being exposed to a range of different words with the same meaning (for example hop, leap, jump). If a book doesn't support this, the reader can do it themselves. 'If there is a picture of someone eating, for example, you can say "He's eating something, mmm, gobble gobble, eat it up",' says Ms Stewart.
- Look for books featuring characters children can identify with. 'Children of this age love to identify a friend in whose life they can enter, and who does similar things to them,' says Ms Dunn.
Recommendations for this age group
- Pip and Posy by Axel Scheffler (Nosy Crow)
- Where, Oh Where is Rosie's Chick? by Pat Hutchin (Hodder Children's Books)
- Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett (Macmillan Children's Books)
- Where's Spot? by Eric Hill (Penguin)
- Oh Dear! and Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell (Macmillan Children's Books)
- The Maisy books by Lucy Cousins (Walker Books)
- From Head to Toe and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle (Puffin).
- Cambell, www.campbell-books.co.uk
- Child's Play, www.childs-play.com
- Chronicle, www.chroniclebooks.com
- Eric Carle, www.eric-carle.com
- Fun with Spot, www.funwithspot.com
- Hodder, www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/homepage_hodderchildrens.page
- Ladybird Books, www.ladybird.co.uk
- Maisy books, www.maisyfun.com
- Minedition, www.minedition.com
- Nosy Crow, www.nosycrow.com
- Pan Macmillan, www.panmacmillan.com
- Penguin, www.penguin.co.uk
- Priddy Books, www.priddybooks.com
- Puffin, www.puffin.co.uk
- Templar, www.templarco.co.uk
- Tiny Love, www.tinylove.com
lWalker, www.walker.co.uk
- Yoyo, www.yoyo-books.com
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