Tuesday, January 19, 2010

How to Buy Childrens Books Your Kids Will Love


Whenever I buy childrens books, I always wonder, what makes a good one? It’s a difficult question, and the answer is different for every child, depending on his or her age, interests, reading level, family values, and mood. Because, let’s face it, when your child is feeling restless, no book is a good book.

But for those glorious moments when your child is ready and willing to read, here are three basic guidelines to follow:

Find a plot with a beginning, middle, and end.

A good plot isn’t just entertaining, it’s a perfect opportunity to teach your child about cause and effect, and that everyone’s actions have consequences. In fact, following the events of a story can help sharpen key critical thinking skills that will benefit your child all the way up to the SATs, and beyond!

Look at the quality of the illustrations.

Children, especially young ones, probably aren’t going to catch every word of a story, so it’s important for you to find a book with informative illustrations that restate the content of the narrative. Besides, if the art is really beautiful, it might even inspire your child to create something special.

Make sure it was a book first, not a movie.

Most adults look down on reading the “novelizations” of films and TV shows, and they shouldn’t encourage it in their children, either. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a book inspired by a movie, but all too often these texts include sparse narration next to still shots from the original production.

Hopefully these tips will help you select children’s books your whole family will enjoy. You can begin your search right here at Swordpen today!

No comments:

Post a Comment