9 genius reading ideas to spark a lifelong love of books
Charlotte Raby and Emily Guille-Marrett show you how to approach a topic by every angle…
1 | Embrace traditional tales
Don’t be afraid to embrace traditional stories and fairytales. While there is often bad press about these stories, they are important because so many fantastic books rely on children knowing the characters, plots and settings.
Pupils from all cultures will be able to find fairytales they can relate to – just think of all the versions of Cinderella, ranging from Ancient Greek to modern day retellings.
The oral heritage of traditional tales mean that the patterns, rhythm and rhyme are hardwired to encourage children to join in with the telling.
2 | Get rhyming
Nursery rhymes help children develop an awareness of sounds and how words work, by exploring rhythm, rhyme and alliteration. This helps them prepare for learning to read with phonics as well as enjoying rhyming picture books and poems.
Nursery rhymes are often stories in miniature, with characters, settings and a plot, offering a great foundation for early reading and writing.
Use them to build children’s vocabularies: draw out new words and explain their meanings.
Repeated practice of new words helps children embed them. Play with language and subvert nursery rhymes, for example: Jack and Jill went round the hill to fetch a pail of ice cream!
Playing with words within a familiar structure helps children work out the rules of the English language.
3 | Forget the words
Sometimes pictures speak louder than words, and no more so than in children’s books. Picture books are full of opportunities to provoke discussion, make connections and allow children to own the reading experience, without the distraction of words or decoding.
Wordless books also require talk. When a child has a wordless book, they drive its narrative. They become both the reader and story creator as they read the pictures.
Dive deep into the images with children to encourage discussion, build a rich vocabulary, develop comprehension skills and teach book behaviours.
Remember, wordless books are completely inclusive, regardless of language or literacy.
Share the following tips with parents and carers to help them share wordless books with their child:
- Let the child be in charge and point out what they see and lead the story
- Join in with your child’s ideas, expand on them and help them develop their thoughts
- Let your child set the pace. Don’t be afraid to linger over one picture for a whole session, whizz through the book or read it again and again
Wordless books such as Aaron Becker’s Journey trilogy make children the boss of their reading. They can bring all their experiences of life to tell the story they see. Tuesday by David Wiesner and The Arrival by Shaun Tan tell thought-provoking and deeply immersive stories for older children.
4 | Encourage visitors
Children rarely have the opportunity to connect with story makers and performers any more. Making links with organisations such as Patron of Reading or Society for Storytelling can help you create a reading culture that will inspire children to see its value.
Hearing authors read from their books, illustrators draw ideas and oral storytellers perform their work gives the undiluted message that reading and writing are so much more than the mechanics of decoding, comprehension questions, spelling and good handwriting.
Arranging for visits can be tricky in a busy day, but there are fantastic videos now available for children to watch, such as those by Michael Rosen. You can even live stream Q&A sessions with reading practitioners too.
5 | Ensure diversity
When children see characters like themselves in picture books, they are able to relate to the story. Author Verna Wilkins has been championing the need for diverse characters in picture books for many years. She recently set up Firetree Books to champion multicultural books.
It is critical that children experience authors, illustrators, poets and storymakers from a range of cultures. Choose non-fiction books to go alongside the fiction you read to children. It expands children’s knowledge of the world and increases their vocabulary.
6 | Read everything
All reading has value, from maps and comics to stories with favourite character brands. Show children how much environmental print they can already read, from brand icons and shop names to packaging.
If they can recognise these, then they understand the concept of reading. The challenge is to unlock the door to a world of reading. Whether this is done with Peppa Pig or Star Wars, it doesn’t really matter. But once that door is opened, encourage children to see themselves as readers and help them find the books that they will love.
Be prepared to become a reading expert. Hang out in your class reading corner every day and talk to the children about their book choices. Talk to young children as readers by saying things such as:
- I can see from the cover that you might love that story!
- If you like Lauren Child there are more books by her here
- If you like adventures then you might like this series
Soon you will find children giving recommendations to each other and seeing themselves as real readers. At times, we read at our comfort level and that is part of enjoying reading, but we need to have high expectations for our children.
Read them books that they can’t access yet; with the right foundation and support they will be reading them in no time. Organisations such as Just Imagine Story Centre arrange curated book boxes and can offer support to help you.
7 | Build relationships
We are all aware of the value reading volunteers bring to schools. As well as listening to children read, encourage local people to come in and tell stories.
This is a great way to engage families from all backgrounds to explore stories and rhymes from their cultural heritage – regardless of English speaking or literacy levels.
Evidence shows that children need to see a value in reading. For example, boys respond well to experiencing other men reading books for pleasure.
8 | Make it a habit
To help integrate reading stories into your busy teaching day, you need to ensure you have a selection of read aloud books that are easily accessible, can be linked to cross-curricular topics and are suitable to the needs of your class.
Sometimes we need books to snuggle up with, but at other times they can be lively and encourage joining in verbally or physically.
A book such as If You’re Happy and You Know It! by Jan Ormerod and Lindsey Gardiner will energise children and engage them in a book before breaktime.
9 | Go online
The eduTwitter community is supportive and inspiring. Save time and gain inspiration by following practitioners who share ideas and resources.
Join in or watch live Twitter chats by following the #PrimaryRocks and #ReadingRocks hashtags.
By following the latest news, reviews and book awards you will keep up to speed with new literary talent and trends.
Follow authors you enjoy and see what they are up to: watch Chris Riddell draw live, see what Children’s Laureate Lauren Child is up to or read Michael Rosen’s most recent blog.
Charlotte Raby (@charlotteraby) and Emily Guille-Marrett (@emilyeatsbooks) are early reading specialists, educational consultants, writers and series editors of Collins’ new Big Cat for Letters and Sounds series.
