librarian, instilled in her, Sandra
Hoslin is attuned to her children’s
preferences. “We like books with
illustrations that are pleasant,
interesting and give us something
to talk about in addition to reading
the book,” she says. “Our girls
currently enjoy rhyming books,
such as
The Gruffalo
, as well as
books about day-to-day things –
going to the playground, exploring
a farmhouse, spending time with
grandparents, learning to do things
by yourself.”
For read-alone books, and
especially for beginner readers,
parents should choose books that
contain at least 70 per cent of words
the child knows and comprehends.
“This is important because children
will rarely become interested in a book
they barely understand,” says Vivian,
who also runs Ms Vivian’s Reading
Club – a reading programme designed
to help children foster a habit and love
of reading.
The “five finger rule” is a well-
known method to test this out. “The
rule is to turn to a full page in the
book and ask your child to hold up a
finger for each word he or she doesn’t
know. If there are five or more words
your child does not know, you should
choose an easier book,” advises
Vivian, who believes the method is
best suited to younger children.
What to look for
“A really good book is a good story
with a great plot, compelling character
and lovely writing that stays with
you,” says Mio.
She believes that for picture
books, the writing and the pictures are
equally important because they should
both tell different aspects of the story.
As children learn vocabulary and to
use language by experiencing great
writing, parents should aim to find
books where the standard of writing
is great, but where the story is not
compromised.
At the same time, “a lovely story
with unattractive pictures that only
show what it says in the text without
enriching or adding more details to
the story is not really very appealing,”
Mio advises.
“Illustrations are very important,
as they say what the text doesn’t,”
says Virginie Zurcher, first-time
author of
The Star of the Zoo.
“If the
illustrations don’t say more than
what’s already written, it will be
hard to reinvent the story and let
the child describe what he sees.
This is especially the case for
younger children.”
Wordless picture books are
also a wonderful way to teach a
child about storytelling and spark
discussion between the reader and
a parent. Unfortunately, parents
do not always realise the worth of
wordless picture books, as they feel
they are not “educational enough,”
Mio laments.
What to avoid
Don’t confuse the purpose of leisure
reading with academic reading, warns
Vivian. “Some of the parents I work
with care more about getting their
four-year-olds to read chapter books
rather than really fostering their love
for reading. They encourage their
kids to ‘wean off’ picture books and
ask them to look up every word they
do not know. This will definitely turn
your kids against books and reading,”
she advises.
October 2014
49
