Reading is a very important tool that helps children’s leaning and development. Here at Fixby House, Huddersfield we love a good book.
Here are our 6 best books for early development.
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What the Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson.
Julia Donaldson is one of our favourite authors here at Fixby House. What the Ladybird Heard is a great book about a ladybird who decides to help his friends. There are rhymes running all the way through this story, and when your child reads along with you, anticipating each rhyme can help them with their communication and language as well as their literacy skills! Not only that, but the story is also full of fun farm animals. Why not ask your child to try and guess which sound they will all make?
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The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith
The Wonky Donkey is a story about a donkey with lots of quirky features, but the key is remembering to list them all in the correct order as the story progresses! There is a lot of unusual language in The Wonky Donkey, but paying attention and engaging with the pictures can help children to develop and understanding of brand new concepts.
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The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
The Gruffalo is a classic children’s story about a clever mouse and his journey through the forest. Julia Donaldson has a special talent for rhyming and repeated refrains. Just like What the Ladybird Heard, The Gruffalo is a wonderful way for children to learn these literacy skills through anticipation. Not only this, but there are lots of unusual descriptive words that your child may not usually hear from day-to-day to add to their ever-growing vocabulary.
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Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
Dear Zoo is the story of a young child who writes a letter to the zoo to ask them for a pet. Throughout the story, the zoo sends her various exotic zoo animals, none of which are quite right for her. The best part of Dear Zoo is that it is full of flaps and reveals, which are excellent for helping babies to interact with books from early stages and to help them to develop their moving and handling skills as they do so. After reading the book a few times, your child might be able to guess which animal comes next before you have even opened the flap…
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The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
The Tiger Who Came to Tea is one of our favourite conversation starters for slightly older children. Discussing your opinions on stories with your child is a surprisingly good way to help to develop their personal social and emotional skills. Think about asking your child questions such as “why did the Tiger eat all of Sophie’s food?” and “was the tiger kind to Sophie and her family?”. This will encourage your child to think not only about what things have happened in the story, but why they happen too.
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We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
In We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, a family travels through different natural environments, such as the windy fields, the wet river and the thick oozy mud, to hunt for a bear. Similarly, to The Gruffalo, Michael Rosen helps us to introduce tricky new words such as ‘narrow’, ‘gloomy’ and ‘stumble’ into our daily language. At the end, we the story recaps all the environments that the family has travelled through to find the bear. Encourage your child to remember these steps and which order they came in – it will help to develop their understanding and listening and attention skills.
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