Chung, director of Story Jungle
Education Centre, an English learning
centre in Central. For beginners, she
recommends books that are funny or
on topics specifically matching their
interests. After children become more
comfortable with reading, she chooses
books on topics that they can still
relate to but are completely foreign
to them, “such as a book about Anne
Frank,” she explains.
Parents can also choose stories for
children that teach relevant lessons,
says Katie Larson, an educator,
researcher, and founder of Annie the
Reading Dog – a new reading tutoring
service aided by Annie, a reading
therapy dog. “Research shows that
children and young adults are more
likely to learn from fiction books than
non-fiction books because they are
able to view the characters’ lives from
afar and watch a story unfold; the
subconscious connections they make
to the characters tend to make them
more accepting of the lessons in the
story. You may be surprised at the
ability of the literary character to teach
something you have been trying to
for weeks!” says Katie, who recently
finished writing her first book
Freckles
the Fish
, a fictional story of a fish who
experiences a series of emotions.
Tracey Nicole Batty, mother
of five-year-old Isabella, agrees. “I
believe one of the biggest gifts I can
give my daughter is healthy self-
love and self-esteem. I believe in
You Can Heal your Life
author Louise
Hay’s message so I bought all of her
children’s books. If Isabella has had a
tough experience and is quite sensitive
– for example, if another child at
school is picking on her – I would read
her the
Adventures of Lulu
. Doing this
generally opens up a conversation so
I can offer her my input on how to
handle the situation.”
Younger readers will respond
best to simple stories without too
many words and illustrations that
are uncluttered and uncomplicated,
advises Mio. Repetitive elements or
rhyme allow children to have fun
filling in the words as the parent
reads to them. Older readers will
appreciate more plot twists, and can
tolerate a higher word count and
more elaborate language.
Hoping to instil in her 29-month-
old twin daughters the same passion
for reading that her mother, a
The most important
consideration when
choosing a book
for your child is
whether your child
will enjoy it or not.
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