We all cherish the time we spend with our children — especially the time we spend reading to them. Most of us start reading to our kids at a very young age. You’ve probably read a few books for young children, already.
However, it is essential to know which types of books for young children that they will most benefit from.
Best Types of Books For Young Children
Little children go through different stages of development over the years. Younger children learn more from books that have pictures and labels for people and things on the pages.
The following is a list of book types that young children learn the most from.
1. Board Books for Very Young Kids
Board books are meant for the youngest children, typically the infants and toddlers.
These books are written for infants from age 1 to 3 years old. The pages of these books are made of thick paperboard and have a glossy finish to withstand wear and tear.
This is done keeping in mind the fact that infants tend to chew, throw down and dribble on these books.
These books have relatively simple subject matter keeping in mind the age of its readers.
They have bright, colorful imagery to keep toddlers engaged. Alphabets, colors, and numbers are usually the usual contents on these books.
You can read them to your toddler and familiarize them with the pictures associated in the books.
Lullabies and nursery rhymes are also included in the table of contents.
2. Picture Books for Ages 3-8
Picture books are for children 3 to 8 years of age. Children of this age have longer attention spans. So you can sit with them longer and read to them from picture books.
In these books, the illustrations dominate more than text. The text and illustrations complement each other.
The pictures play an equally important role as the text when you are reading the story aloud.
The plots of these books are dull. Usually, a central character embodies the child’s point of view.
The text usually rhymes, and the illustrations serve the purpose of holding the child’s interest.
The illustrations often contain a wide range of media such as watercolor, photography, acrylic and color pencils.
3. Folklore Awakens Children’s Myth-Related Development
These types of books include tales that have been passed down through generations through verbal storytelling.
Folklores also contain myths that are aimed explicitly towards explaining the different aspects of life.
They teach children about different experiences and various cultures.
Folklore books are based on a historical event or theme.
They aim to equip younger generations to face the world better by passing down knowledge in the form of stories.
So they make for exciting read-aloud books for children.
Read More: 7 Books That Changed My Life
4. Fairy Tales: Great Read-Aloud Books for Kids
Fairy tales are stories that have a magical nature about them.
They have a very detailed way of bringing an explanation to the many ways the world functions.
Giants, witches, prince and princesses, dwarfs, dragons, fairies, mermaids and talking animals (to name a few) are the typical features of these books.
These often make for an excellent read-aloud book for your child.
5. Interactive Books
These types of books actively engage your child in some form of activity while reading the book.
The contents of the books ask the children to perform activities such as clapping their hands, standing up, sitting down, covering their eyes or ears and touching their toes.
Some books have flaps that encourage the kids to find out what’s underneath by lifting them.
Children enjoy this form of interaction with the stories as you read it aloud to them.
Read More: The Complete List of Dr. Seuss Books
6. Poetry Books for Young Children
Poetry books have playful rhyming words which enable children to develop an awareness of phonemes.
It’s an important medium to teach young children about the sounds of language.
Poetry books can be illustrated versions of a single poem or a collection of poems written by the same author.
Poetry books are also great for teens.
7. Alphabet Books for Toddlers
Alphabet books are ideal for toddlers. They are best used to help teach children to identify the letters and to understand that these letters are used in the language that they speak.
Alphabet books come in many forms. There is a very basic form that shows the letter and associates it with an object that begins with that letter.
There are the more sophisticated books that tell an entire story using that alphabet format.
Alphabet books may use themes using similar objects to familiarize the alphabet, such as colors, animals, fruits, and vegetables.
The artwork used to illustrate the alphabet in these books is very creative.
These books are fascinating to young children when reading aloud as they associate the words with the illustrations on the book, helping them learn new words with alphabets.
8. Books to Learn Counting
There are many types of counting books. The beginner ones use illustrations of daily items that are found all around us to teach counting numbers from 1 to 5 or 5 to 10.
More elaborate counting books use themes to present their information and explain counting numbers from 100 up to a thousand.
Counting books are essential for children as they teach them to associate language with numbers.
Preschoolers benefit from having parents read these books to them as they learn that numbers are used for counting.
9. Information Based Books
These are always a good read for children as they are non-fiction books and usually are written about topics that children naturally have an interest in.
The styling of these books is generally straightforward with a focus on subjects that are easily found in a child’s natural environment.
Animals, food, colors, vehicles, seasons and sports are usually the main focal point for these books, introducing the children to the written language with the help of illustrations labeled on the books.
10. Rhyming Books For Kids
Children love rhyming books. Hearing repetitive words and rhyming language teaches them how the language works.
Children learn to anticipate what’s coming next when they are familiar with a rhyme in a book. This also teaches them to make predictions.
It’s fun for the parents to read as well as they can adjust the tone and softness of their voice and be able to add emotion into what they are reading.
Conclusion
Reading to your child is an excellent way to bond with them not to mention a unique learning opportunity for your child.
Equipped with the information from above you can decide on buying the best book to read aloud to your child. Happy reading!
About The Author
Stepheny is a content writer at FeedFond. She’s a loving mother to her two children and is passionate about psychology and philosophy. To read more of her articles, visit FeedFond.com.