Reading aloud to your child
Reading to your child can be fun. Alison Shakspeare, author and mum of two, shares tips on making the most of story time
You can make any story, from a simple picture book to a complicated tale of adventure, really come alive for your child by using both your voice and your body — here’s how:
- Look at your child, smile and make faces to interest her in the story
- Gently encourage your child to join in by touching the pictures, turning the pages, lifting any flaps, and making noises. You could also ask her to read aloud too at certain points in the story
- Make noises that fit the actions of the story: if the book reads “Bang went the door,” say the “B” sound loudly and hold the word on “AAAANG”. With “Swish went the broom”, say “SWWWWIIIISHHHH” and make a sweeping action with your hand
- Change the sound of your voice to help show what is happening in the story. You could speak louder, softer, higher, lower, in your normal voice or a different voice. For a sentence like: “The farmyard animals heard Mrs Prout say: ‘OUT, CAT, OUT!’”*, you could try saying Mrs Prout’s words in a pretend cross voice and with a frown
- It can help to read the book on your own first, so you know what’s coming and will be ready to change your voice and rhythm. Try saying “I’m not scared” three times, stressing a different word each time and you’ll see how this changes the meaning of the phrase
- Pauses are important because they allow you to take a breath and help listeners think about what has happened in the plot. They also create an exciting atmosphere. Say this sentence out loud, emphasising the words in italics: “Long ago, there was a castle... It was old... It was cold... It was grey... And it was haunted”†. If you stress the last word of each line, then pause, you’ll create suspense. The sentence wouldn’t be as atmospheric if it was written “It was old, cold, grey and haunted”, as the rhythm and effect would be lost.
Top books to read aloud
For babies and toddlers:
What Makes Me Happy by Catherine and Laurence Anholt (£5.99, Walker Books)
Roar! by Margaret Mayo and Alex Ayliffe (£5.99, Orchard Books)
For pre-schoolers:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (£5.99, Puffin Books)
Bumpus Jumpus Dinosaurumpus by Tony Mitton and Guy Parker-Rees (£5.99, Orchard Books)
For over-fives:
Slinky Malinki by Lynley Dodd (£4.99, Puffin Books)
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury (£4.99, Walker Books)
Find out more
- learndirect (runs adult literacy classes if you’d like to improve your reading skills)
www.learndirect.co.uk
0800 101 901
- Join your local library and you’ll never run out of free books!
- The National Literacy Trust
www.literacytrust.org.uk
- How to Enjoy Reading Aloud by Alison Shakspeare and Edmund Pegge (£1.95, Southgate Publishers, www.southgatepublishers.co.uk) is a booklet with more tips on reading to children
“My son is six now but he still likes me to read his baby books, such as 'Dear Zoo' and 'Owl Babies', to him sometimes. It’s really comforting for him.”
Hilary, mum of Jamie, 6
* From It’s So Unfair! by Pat Thomson and Jonathan Allen
† From The Bump in the Night by Anne Rockwell
Pictures: Photolibrary
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