Oxfordshire Baby & Parenting Guide | Page 39

35 Reluctant reader? If your child isn’t as interested as you’d hoped in books, try not to make an issue of it. Some are more reluctant than others but in time they may be bitten by the reading bug. One way in which you can try to stimulate is by reading novelty books together. These have something unusual about them, perhaps flaps that your child has to lift to see what’s underneath or wheels to turn, or tags to pull. This encourages them to participate in the story and therefore helps to attract their interest. What a story! Kim Pickin, director of the Oxford Story Museum, says there’s nothing quite like reading: “Stories help to develop children’s language and reasoning, empathy and imagination. They help children make sense of the world. They help them think, communicate and relate to others. They are something different generations can enjoy together and as a recent study showed, enjoyment of reading has a greater impact on educational attainment than any other factor, including parental education and income”. Top 5 books from birth CHECK OUT F IVE FANTASTIC BOOKS YOU A CAN ENJOY F ND YOUR CHIL ROM BIRTH: D 1. Dear Zoo – Rod Campbell , Macmillan Ch 2. Where’s Sp ildren’s Books ot? – Eric Hill, Frederick Warn 3. The Very Hu e Publishers L ngry Caterpil td la r – E ri c Carle, Puffin B 4. We’re Goin ooks g on a Bear Hu nt – Michael R Oxenbury, Walk o se n and Helen er Books Ltd 5. Doing the A nimal Bop – Ja n Omerod, and Oxford Univers Lindsey Gardin ity Press er, Pack Age group Where to get it Bookstart Baby Pack Up to 12 months Ask your health visitor Bookstart 36-47 months Treasure Bag Booktouch Ask at your Early Years setting or library Up to 4 years For blind or partially sighted children. Ask at your Early Years setting, health visitor or library Bookshine Up to 4 years For hearing impaired children ask at your library or health visitor Bookstar Star 3-5 years For children who have disabilities that impact on or delay the development of their fine motor skills Our parents and their children love reading... “I read to them while they were in the womb” “Our whole family loves to read and is excited about books. I even started to read to my three babies when they were still in the womb! I don’t remember a time when we haven’t read to our children. At the moment their favourite books are Charlie and Lola, The Pirate Penguins (hilarious) and, of course, the old traditional fairy stories. We read at any time, but always at bedtime – no matter what we are doing or where we are”. Lynn Banerji “Our favourite books are funny ones” “We adore reading and have a story most nights and now the children are reading well, they read to me sometimes. We have read to our children since they were tiny and they love it. They’re book mad! We also encourage them to read signs, bus destinations, etc. Our favourite books are funny ones, such as The Gruffalo and A Squash and a Squeeze”. Karen Collins FURTHER INFORMATION Oxfordshire County Council www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/libraries Oxford Story Museum www.storymuseum.org.uk Bookstart www.bookstart.org.uk For further information on BookStart, please email [email protected] or tel: 01865 810243. All reading packs can be requested through the Bookstart Co-ordinator or libraries who will forward the request.