Do we cultivate a child's love for reading in pursuit of academic success? Most parents have a desire for their child to learn to read from a very young age. In the long run, there is value in sustained reading. Reading improves literacy skills - comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, which are all very important elements in helping a child grasp and learn concepts in school. Most importantly, all parents want their child to do well in his school examination. It is no wonder that parents are perpetually on a hunt for beautifully illustrated children books in hope that their encouragement and inculcation of love for books during the early childhood years can help their child to become avid readers. Read on for book guides featuring the types of books we love for children between birth till 3 years old!
High contrast books are perfect for babies between the age of 0 to 7 months. A newborn can only see objects that are 8 to 15 inches away. In fact, the baby's vision is blurred at birth. In addition, their perception of colours is also limited in the first few months. Although there is a range of evidence on the colours a baby can recognise, there is a consensus that babies only see white, black, and shades of grey. Apart from the three basic colours, red is one of the first colours a baby will be able to see in the later months. Thus, high contrast books with black and white images are appealing for babies in those early months. High contrast books have black images on white background and white images on black background.
Black White Board Book available at Pupsik Studio
Cloth books are perfect for infant between the 8 months to 18 months. Infants do not have the physical strength to lift up a board book on their own. As such, board book may sometimes slip from their tiny hands and hurt their tiny feet when they are unable to hold the book up. This makes cloth books a more suitable reading material for this age group.
Baby Touch: Tails Cloth Book available at Monster Bookery
Take a look at Tails Cloth Book. This particular cloth book comes with the different animal tails for infants to busy themselves with. You can be sure that your child will spend time stroking or pulling these add-ons in a cloth book. Thus, the value of a cloth book goes beyond the soft and snuggly material of the book. Its value certainly lies in the interactive play from the variety of activities to make a cloth book interesting.
Lift the flap books are suitable for toddlers and meant to excite those above 18 months. You will notice that your toddler demands to read the same lift the flap book over and over again during story sessions. Lift the flap books are meant to encourage young children to interact with the story and get them excited about reading. These books also teach young children about making predictions. Play a game and bring on the laughter when reading to your child. Allow your child to guess what's behind the flap before opening it. Making predictions are important life skills and you would definitely want to cultivate them from a young age.
Dear Zoo in the Mandarin version available at Books4tots.sg
We know it is becoming increasing difficult to build up a child's interest in reading for leisure. Today, children are exposed to a wide range of online teaching tools and applications on smartphones. These mobile applications are built with colourful animations, songs, and other attention-grabbing features. We hope the guide above has helped you to choose age appropriate books from birth to three years old. With the right set up, adequate support and encouragement from parents, you can be assured that your children would become passionate readers.
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