Literacy

Selecting the Right Books for your Child

Finding the right book for your child means finding something your child wants to read AND making sure it's at the right level. 

If your child struggles to find something to read, the following things may help:

Genre: It is helpful to identify what type, category or genre of the book your child enjoys. 

For example, does your child like action and adventure? Fantasy? Mystery? Start your book searches by looking for new books within a favourite genre.

Author: Stumbling on a new author can be a treasure trove of new titles! Find a book your child particularly enjoys and see if that author has written other books. It's also fun to search online to see if that author has a website. Many authors do, and some include games, facts, and other interesting information to keep a reader engaged.

Making sure a book is at the right reading level for your child can also be a challenge. Ask your child to choose a book that is a good fit for them by reading two or three pages and asking himself/herself these questions:

Will it be an easy, fun book to read?

• Do I understand what I am reading?
• Do I know most of the words?
• When I read it aloud, can I read it fluently?
• Do I think the topic will interest me?

If most of the answers are "yes", this should be a book that your child can read independently.

Will this book be too hard for me?

• Are there lots of words on a page that I don't know, or am unsure of?
• Is this book confusing and hard to understand by myself?
• When I read it aloud, does it sound stilted and slow?

If most of their answers are "yes," this book might be too hard for your child to read independently. Give the book another try later, or read it with your child.

Information is taken from

https://www.readingrockets.org/article/finding-right-book-your-child

Simone Crist

Literacy Leader