Shared Book Reading: A parent’s guide to Storytime
Did you know that babies can be introduced to books as early as infancy? Babies recognise their parents’ voices even when they are in the womb. So when you read to them after birth, it not only reassures them of your presence but also calms them and strengthens your bond. In the early weeks, babies’ vision is blurry and they only see shades of black, white and grey. That’s why high contrast books held at about 8-12 inches from their faces are perfect at this age! These books support visual development and help babies learn to focus and coordinate eye movements.
Make it stand out
Between 6-12 months of age, babies become little explorers; they reach out, touch, turn, pat and mouth everything that they can get their hands on! This is a great period to introduce interactive board books, like the touch-and-feel ones. These books offer a fun way for babies to learn through their senses. They enhance learning by helping babies make associations between what they see in the book and how things feel in the real world.
Once your toddler is around 18-20 months, they start pointing to pictures in books and naming things they recognise, especially when parents stimulate an interaction by commenting and asking questions. Using flap books during this stage sparks curiosity among children and fosters interaction with parents. Then, around 30 months, children begin imitating action sequences they see in pictures, bringing stories to life!
The preschool years are a great time to introduce books with rhyming words. Rhymes aren’t just catchy and silly, they help build phonological awareness, which is an important skill for learning to read. As children grow and begin reading on their own, offer books that are appropriate for their reading levels. The reading levels are:
· Level 1: Early readers (classes 1 to 3)
· Level 2: Fluent readers (Classes 3-5)
· Level 3: Advanced readers (classes 6-8)
There are many ways to read to children, but an approach that really makes a difference is shared book reading. Shared book reading is the practice of reading a book to a child and actively engaging them by asking them questions, discussing the characters and commenting on objects or actions. Research has shown that sharing books with children and reading with them rather than just to them can help build vocabulary, strengthen conversational skills and lay the foundation for early literacy.
You can try shared book reading by picking a book based on a theme your child enjoys. This can get them excited and more eager to look at books. Some children might find it hard to grasp abstract ideas, for example, they may not understand how a lion can be a king. For them, books with familiar everyday scenes tend to resonate more (like Ammachi’s Glasses). On the other hand, many children love stories with animals, especially when they mirror real-life experiences (like The Lion Goes for a Haircut).
Here are some tips to make shared book reading fun and engaging:
Follow your child’s lead: Sit face-to-face with your child so you both have a good view of the book. Let them explore the book by touching, patting, turning it around, or even mouthing it. Then model, by showing them how to turn each page and start talking about what you see in the pictures. Your child learns by watching you!
Make it interactive: Bring the story to life by changing your voice, adding sound effects or making silly noises! This really gets them to pay attention to you. Then, point to the characters in the book and comment on what they are doing. You can even act out the scenes to draw their interest.
Make expansions: When your child starts labelling objects or an action, like “Monkey!”, expand their utterance into a correct grammatical form. You can say, “Yes, the monkey is eating bananas!” This helps them hear how words come together to form a sentence, naturally building language.
Connect the story to real life: When your child learns something new from a book, try associating it with events they experience in everyday life. For example, if you are stuck in traffic, you can say, “Hey, this is just like little Minni who was stuck in traffic too!” These associations make stories more meaningful and help your child remember what was read.
Ask questions: Once your child is familiar with the book, start asking questions to get them to think and interact. For younger children, you may ask, “Where’s the cat?” and wait for them to point. For older children, ask questions that will elicit a verbal response, such as, “What is the boy doing?” or “Why is the dog laughing?”
Talk about feelings: Storybooks are a great tool to introduce emotions. When a character is feeling emotions like crying, point to it and explain why. For example, “Minni is sad because she lost her cat.” Then connect it to your experience and say, “I feel sad when I am sick and can’t play with you.” Encourage them to share their experience with the emotion by asking, “What makes you sad?” This helps them to label their feelings and understand emotions.
Let them complete your sentence: Once your child has understood the sequences of the story, provide opportunities for them to complete your sentences. For example, say, “The crocodile is under the – “ and point to the picture of the response as a cue. This provides a chance for your little one to use words and stay involved in the story.
These are some ways you can build an interaction with shared book reading. Reading with your child isn’t just about turning pages, it is about building a connection and laying the foundation for language and learning. Hence, we encourage you to start reading to your kids early, and if you require support with using these strategies or need book recommendations for your kids, connect with us!
Reference
Kaderavek, J., & Justice, L. M. (2002). Shared storybook reading as an intervention context. American journal of speech-language pathology, 11(4), 395-406.
Lariviere, J., & Rennick, J. E. (2011). Parent picture-book reading to infants in the neonatal intensive care unit as an intervention supporting parent-infant interaction and later book reading. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 32(2), 146-152.
Noble, C., Sala, G., Peter, M., Lingwood, J., Rowland, C., Gobet, F., & Pine, J. (2019). The impact of shared book reading on children's language skills: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 28, 100290.
Pollard-Durodola, S. D., Gonzalez, J. E., Simmons, D. C., Kwok, O., Taylor, A. B., Davis, M. J., ... & Simmons, L. (2011). The effects of an intensive shared book-reading intervention for preschool children at risk for vocabulary delay. Exceptional Children, 77(2), 161-183.
Salley, B., Daniels, D., Walker, C., & Fleming, K. (2022). Shared book reading intervention for parents of infants and toddlers. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 20(3), 322-340.
The Hanen Centre - Bring On the Books! 10 tips for Reading with Autistic Children. (n.d.). https://www.hanen.org/information-tips/bring-on-the-books