Most children love all types of books, and the variety of wonderful books on offer for youngsters nowadays ensures that there is plenty of choice for everyone. Books are a fun way for parents and other adults to interact with younger children, and a great source of learning for them.
For older children, books provide hours of entertainment as well as developing concentration skills and vocabulary. The most important thing to bear in mind when buying books for children is that the book must be age appropriate as well as suitable for the reading age of the child you are buying for. There are dangers in buying books that are not age appropriate even if the child has an advanced reading age – for example the contents of the book may not be suitable for his or her age group, and plot lines may be too complex for them to grasp, leading to frustration and loss of interest if they don’t understand the storylines. All is not lost though – if you do make a mistake and buy a book that the child is not yet ready for, it can easily be put away for a while and enjoyed at a later date!
The following points might be helpful when trying to ensure the book you choose is age appropriate:
• Look at the cover of the book – many books state a recommended age group
• Ask in bookshops – many staff are trained to know this sort of thing and will be able to help you in your selection
• Look online – popular websites such as amazon.com are good for finding age appropriate books as it is possible to search for books based on age group.
The following is a rough guide as to which sort of books are suitable for which ages, but as children are all different, it is still important to follow the points above and take advice on the age appropriateness of a book.
Babies and Toddlers
Choose board books that can withstand chewing, bright colours and pictures, with one word or no text, although even young babies love to be read to. Books with familiar objects, animals or other babies are usually popular with this age group.
Preschoolers
At this age you can start to tailor the books to the interests of the particular child. Preschool children may have a favourite story that they love to hear again and again and will learn the words from memory. Interactive books are good for this age group, as are stories about familiar experiences or activities and those containing familiar characters.
Early Readers (age 5-7)
Children of this age also like books that they can relate to. Ladybird books are great for introducing this age group to independent reading, along with fairy tales and familiar characters such as Winnie the Pooh or any of the Walt Disney characters.
Advanced Readers (age 8-12)
At this stage, it is important to base book choices on the level of emotional maturity of a particular child, so the content is more important than the reading level. There are strong individual preferences for subject matter in this age group, and children should be able to select their own choices. Children of this age are fast becoming fluent readers, and will hopefully go on to enjoy a lifetime of reading books.
