How to create a bookworm
Some tips for reading aloud to children
WHEN the lights are low and bedtime approaches, it’s time for a story: There’s nothing like reading books together to create a feeling of warmth and security for children.
“It’s not surprising, because people have always sat around campfires and told each other stories,” says German author Gerlis Zillgens, who regularly puts on reading sessions in her home city of Cologne. “Reading aloud is a modern form of it.”
And it also plays an important part in early childhood development.
“Children develop a better relationship with language through early contact with books, their vocabulary increases and they have a better feeling for sentence and text structure,” explains Daniel Schnock, part of a movement encouraging children to read.
And those who plunge early into the world of storytelling are also helping to develop their imaginations and empathy.
You can’t start early enough. “Lots of parents only start reading when their children are two or three,” says Schnock. But they can start in their first year of life.
“Obviously you don’t start with Michael Ende’s Neverending Story straight away. But books with lots of pictures and just a few words work well for that age,” says Schnock.
And one advantage of starting so young is that books quickly become a normal part of everyday life.
It’s easy to create a comfortable reading atmosphere. “You can read aloud anywhere,” says actor and children’s book author Christian Berg.
Parents shouldn’t worry about their own skills at reading aloud, he says, adding that for children it’s wonderful enough just to be enjoying time with their mum or dad.
But how to bring a story to life? It only takes a few small touches to push a story along. “Parents should just choose things that are fun for them too,” says Zillgens.
Pausing at a place that’s particularly exciting can create tension and parents can read funny bits multiple times.
If a fox is the main character, it’s a good idea to have a cuddly fox on hand to act out the part.
To get an idea of how to read a book have a flick through it before you start reading, suggests Zillgens. A classic way of having fun is using your voice to illustrate the characters – bears growl and snakes hiss.
In children’s books with lots of dialogue you can share the roles out.
“It can be a lot of fun for a child if mum reads the male roles and dad the female ones,” says Berg. If the child is already school age they can also take on a role.
Smaller children also enjoy noises, for example a knock on the door or the sound of a frog chorus.
Props can also make reading hour more exciting: a torch could be used to make shadows, a pan as a drum, a glass as a bell or a sock to create hand puppets.
“Reading aloud shouldn’t be done in a schoolmasterly way, it should be done as equals,” says Berg.
Depending on the age of the child, you can imagine how the story continues after it ends, or discuss what you would do if you were in the shoes of the main character.
Children should also be allowed to help choose a book. Those who are overwhelmed by choice can ask for advice in bookshops. – dpa