Selecting the Right Kind of Books for Children

Infants and Toddlers (0-2 years)

⦁ Brightly colored pictures of familiar objects
⦁ Simple texts (3-4 words per page) and words with rhythmic sounds
⦁ Pictorial books but NOT larger than life images
⦁ Small in size (Something a child can hold) NOT small in print
⦁ Board books, texture rich books, cloth books (Sensorial exploration)

Preschool and Kindergarten (2-6 years)

⦁ Boks depicting familiar objects like cars, dogs, family
⦁ Slightly complex texts (4-5 words sentence) with rhythmic endings line bush-push
⦁ Toy books that may pop up, move or make sounds
⦁ Folk tales, classics with small stories depicted through pictures
⦁ Equal proportion of text and pictures
School Years (6-9 years)

⦁ Books focusing on enhancing reading skills, can introduce fiction books
⦁ Text dominating books with small pictures
⦁ Time to introduce dictionary
⦁ Story developing books, short stories, puzzle/activity books
⦁ Real- life adventures books like travel, sports, body systems
⦁ Let children pick books at this age
⦁ Mix of familiar and challenging words
⦁ Text focusing on variety of statements like, questions, affirmative, exclamatory sentences

Middle Childhood Years (9-12 years)

⦁ Knowledge oriented books, encyclopedia
⦁ Informational books or novels based on child’s interest
⦁ Text rich books, pictures not needed
⦁ Grammar rich books developing clarity on punctuations, usage of grammar related to language