Not all books are created equally and some books are definitely better for language stimulation than others.

Here are some tips to consider when purchasing books for younger children, look for books that contain:

• Big, colourful pictures with simple text to maintain interest and foster a love of reading
• Early concepts such as counting, colours, shapes
• Categories such as animals, food, transport, clothing
• Spatial concepts such as on, off, up, down, over, under, through, above, below
• Colourful illustrations which will captivate your child’s attention
• Different textures to introduce concepts such as bumpy, soft, hard, rough
• Thicker pages which are more durable and will allow your child to participate during reading time by turning pages
• Noises and sounds such as animals, environmental and transport

When purchasing books for older children, look for books that contain:

• A beginning, middle and end as they are great for teaching your child about sequencing
• Inferences to promote problem solving and creative thinking
• Rhyming words, syllable counting, sound play to promote pre literacy skills which will help with the acquisition of reading and spelling skills
• Adjectives and adverbs to extend your child’s vocabulary
• The appropriate reading level, length and language for your child’s age
• Longer sentences/more words for children who are 3-5 years of age
• Details of daily routines which are familiar to your child such as going to school, visiting grandma, swimming classes
• Imaginary and mystical characters
• Any topics which are interesting to your child

Encourage your child to enjoy story time by establishing a regular reading routine, allowing your child to select books of interest and using intonation and prosody when reading.