Reading and writing go hand in hand. Published authors are usually in the throes of a lifelong love affair with books. And the very best time to develop that relationship with the written word is in the formative years.
With just a little gentle nudging from a parent, a child can be introduced to a world of ideas and experience that will change his or her life. And who knows, it may even get them putting pen to paper and joining a growing number of child authors.
We spoke to a panel of experts at The Reading Agency, various libraries and publishers of children’s books, to bring you a five-point plan to instilling a love of literature in your little ones.
Read yourself
Kids emulate their parents. So if your little cherub sees you pouring over a newspaper or magazine of enjoying a good book, curiosity will be aroused and he or she will want to copy you.
Join a library
Introduce your little one to the local library. Set a day and a time for going to join together. When you go, get your child involved in filling in forms, and then let them loose in the kids’ section while you go and browse for your own literature. Don’t criticise their choices, but if there’s something you think they’d love, say so. Read the first page of a book together at the library to whet their appetite. Make your library excursion a weekly event to look forward to. And keep an eye on the notice board for any writing competitions, reading groups or school holiday literature activities your child could take part in.
All literature is worthy
Parents often get hung up on what their children should or shouldn’t be reading. Try and be happy with the fact that they’re reading at all. All trends pass quickly so don’t despair if they refuse to try anything other than the latest fads. Teenagers tend to dip in and out of reading, so if anything, positively encourage them to follow literary fashion. Manga (high speed Japanese comics for teenagers) are all the rage at the moment. If fiction isn’t their thing, find out what their interests are and take out a magazine subscription to suit.
Read aloud
There’s nothing like snuggling up with a book and telling a good story. Pour over the pictures, pause regularly to talk about what’s happened so far and check everything is understood. By the same token, get the kids reading to you. This could be ingredients from a cookery book, signs at the railway station or driving directions.
Keep a diary
Give your child a scrapbook in which they can doodle, write down their thoughts and ideas or what they’ve done in their day. Give them a disposable camera and get them to keep a travelogue of a family holiday.
If the visual arts are more your kids’ thing, see our feature on stage schools and theatre workshops .
Images courtesy of The Reading Agency. Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third party sites.
One of the earliest child authors on record is Francis Hawkins. In 1641, at the age of eight, Francis wrote a book called Youth’s Behaviour Or Decency In Conversations Amongst Men.
Born in 1958 in Washington, Dorothy Straight was just four when she wrote a story for her grandmother entitled How The World Began. The book was published two years later.
When she was 14, Karin Peters’ uncle died of cancer. Three years later, in 2003, her account of the disease and its toll on the family was published in Britain under the title Every Third Person.
In just 18 months, Aimée Carter published 25 pieces of Harry Potter fan fiction. She went on to write her own novel, Phoenix Ashes, in just six months. Not bad for a 16-year-old.
Websites full of creative ideas for reading and writing:
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