Story time stimulates, feeds children’s minds

After a long day at work, then scrambling to throw dinner on the table, help with homework, clean up and shuffle children off to bed, story time can feel like just another chore to add to an already overcrowded list. But then, maybe if you grab a couple books anyway and cuddle up, the stress might fall away and the list that was haunting you might disappear for a few minutes. This story time thing could turn out to be a balm for you and your child.

Julia Donaldson, author of Room on the Broom, The Gruffalo and her new book, The Giant Jumperee, has some thoughts for parents about reading to children, and why this is such an important ritual to maintain.

Q Why is story time with parents and loved ones so important?

A A story shared between an adult and child, that’s one of life’s greatest pleasures. It’s a time of reconciliation, to share stories. It can bring parents and child together. And I think, obviously, their vocabulary increases, their imagination is stimulated. It helps them make sense of your own world and what’s happening to you, but also helps you understand very different people or worlds.

Q How can parents make story time more fun and imaginative?

A Some parents really enjoy putting on voices and characters, getting their child to read and join in. In my family, we enjoyed stories when we were out and about. I’m a great believer in acting them out but wouldn’t want to force it.

Q How did you begin to write children’s books and why?

A It kind of just came my way, really. I was a film writer, doing some for children’s television. The way I got into that was singing in the streets. I was a busker. Then I started making up my own songs and there was a market for them. Then, just out of the blue, one of my songs called “A Squash and a Squeeze” was made into a book. When I had that in my hands, I said that’s what I wanted to do.

Q Why are reading and literature so important?

A Without books and reading, people could stay very narrow-minded. If you just live in one community and you’re brainwashed into thinking a certain way, you’re not going to broaden your mind. And I think we need, especially in today’s world, when there’s so much indoctrination, I just think if everyone could go to libraries and read books, there would be a lot less.