Yo Reading Family!
Are you excited to begin reading to kids, but unsure how to get started?
Call us Moses, cuz we’re about to take you to the promised land 😎
In this post, you’ll answer questions that will better prepare you to inspire your young audience!
What books do YOU enjoy and can share with passion?
A big mistake we can make when choosing books to reading kids is selecting a book others love, but we personally aren’t passionate about. As a first time teacher, I would solicit book titles from Pinterest and colleagues. I repeatedly heard variations of the following:
Oh, your students will love _________. I just adore it!
When I was little, __________ was one of my favorites!
This book has won so many awards and is on the bestseller’s list!
When parents and teachers ask me about reading to kids, the first piece of advice I offer is simple: read a book to kids that gets you excited and can be shared with enthusiasm. Don’t for a second dismiss a book you find fascinating just because you doubt your audience will buy-in. More often than not, if you have a story you adore, your affinity for the story will unconsciously be conveyed to your listeners. Reading zeal is contagious 😉
What captivates the attention of the kids I’m reading to?
Let’s state the not-so-obvious: find out what they’re interests and hobbies are.
As a teacher, I assessed the interests of my students by having them complete a reading interest survey. One year I might have several athletes who loved sports, and the next I might have a class with who were hooked whenever I read stories that shined with humor.
My own two boys, ages four and two, both love anything to do with construction vehicles. It’s no coincidence I discovered this while reading Anna Dewdney’s Little Excavator over and over again 😂 So of course I find every title in the Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site series and share it with them!
By tapping into their interests and hobbies, you’ll find yourself reading to kids whose attention is captured!
How much time do I have to commit to reading to kids?
During my time in the classroom, I had to intentionally carve out time to read to my students. In most cases, that was between 5 - 10 minutes. In addition, I personally found the optimal time window for finishing a book in the classroom should be no longer than a month (with exception to shortened periods due to holidays and school closures such as December and spring break). Thus, with the parameters of 5-10 minutes of daily reading over the span of a month, a book with 110 - 140 pages seemed to hit the sweet spot.
Were there days when I wasn't finished with a lesson and we still read anyway?
You bet. But the big picture benefits of reading to my class outweighed the hassle of resuming a lesson the next day.
This will look differently for parents reading to their kiddos at home, but the principle remains the same. Determine how much time you'll spend reading to them and about how long the book should take to finish. Then, let that inform how long your selected book ought to be. If you sneak in more reading to your kiddos at the park or while they're getting their hair cut (YES, I've done it with my two boys and it helps them sit still 😂👏), you'll finish ahead of schedule or catch up when you've fallen behind during the hectic seasons.
How old is your audience?
It goes without saying, but let's not make any assumptions 😉 If you want to successfully read to kids, you've got to take their age into consideration when considering print candidates!
Got toddlers? Leave the chapter books on the shelf and instead go with board books with plenty of white space, rich illustrations, and some flaps to lift. Classic and contemporary options of great titles include Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See, Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom, After the Buzz Comes the Bee, and the Peek-A-Who series. These invited our littles to eagerly climb onto our laps and be still long enough to enjoy a few minutes together!
Older listeners can be still for the time it takes to dive into a chapter or two of a story even if it doesn't come with illustrations. An important consideration to keep in mind is the content of the chosen book. An older audience is especially interested in stories that are "based on true events" or involve characters their age who experience risk, adventure, and suspenseful plot elements. Some of my personal favorite include George Washington's Socks, Tuck Everlasting, and The Chronicles of Prydain series (which is the first complete series I read to my wife😊).
What type of books beg to be read to kids?
I stumbled upon a vital truth in my reading journey while in the classroom: not all books are created equal. Or, to put it another way, not all books are meant to be read to an audience. A title that has little dialogue, copious amounts of stream-of-consciousness, or long descriptive passages highlighting a single flower don't tend to appeal to kids in general. In addition, informational texts that offer general surveys of events and people don't hook a younger listening audience.
Instead, try sticking to books with a memorable main character and limited supporting cast. Dialogue is helpful as it forces the listener to picture the different speaker in their mind and stay engaged. And a plot with a compelling conflict that the audience cares about is definitely a must. You can find these elements in Stone Fox, Beezus and Ramona, Treasure in an Oatmeal Box (warning: have the kleenex nearby when you finish the story😢🤧).
Have I personally read the entire book BEFORE reading it my listeners?
I can be a slowww learner when it comes to certain things. This was a lesson that took me a while to finally embrace: read or listen to an entire book before reading it to your listeners. You secure a positive reading outcome when you read ahead because:
You can determine stopping points that are natural cliff hangers which leave your kiddos begging to continue reading instead of stopping the story 😏
You can identify passages that need further parental consideration (i.e. values, potentially traumatic situations, etc.) or require additional discussion when its covered.
You can plan how you want different characters to sound and events to be depicted as you read.
This can seem to be optional, but experience has taught me otherwise. If you're strapped for time and want to see if a book is a good fit for you and your children, secure an audiobook version and speed up the narration to finish it sooner!
Got thoughts or additional questions?
What other factors are important to consider when selecting books to read to kids? Send your thoughts and additional questions to Danny at stickmanreads@gmail.com!
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