How To Choose A Children's Book. 8 Easy Steps

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Why are abstract illustrations in a children's book dangerous? How can parents discourage a child from reading? Is it possible to give your child literature that contains slang? Family psychologist Svetlana Merkulova answered these and other questions.

1. Cool, fuck off and a hundred pounds

There is a certain slang in our life, we can't get away from it. However, this does not mean that parents (by word or with the help of a book) should "help" their child to learn various words. Society will do it for you. It is better that the narration in the book is in the classical language. Having seen some newfangled expression, the child can take it into his vocabulary, thinking that this is normal. I am not saying that such books should be banned and in no case should they be bought. No. Just rely on the age of the child. It is not necessary to bring different "cool" and "cool" into his life before he learns it himself. You need to be aware that by offering such literature to a child, you seem to normalize what, in general, is not the norm.

2. Feeling comfortable

Reading a book should be comfortable and enjoyable. And here, of course, not the least role is played by the form in which it is performed. The quality of the paper, the binding and the design - everything matters. The book should be such that one would like to take it in hand. You also need to remember about its size. You should not choose very large gift books, they are inconvenient for a child.

3. Horse with horns and others

The younger the child, the more vivid, understandable illustrations without abstractions should be in the book. After all, everything that a child sees, he accepts absolutely concretely and literally because of his uncriticality - the way he was presented. If a horse with horns is drawn, he will be sure that this is what the horses look like. Pay attention to the drawings in children's literature.

4. To each his own

Small children (under 3 years old) do not need long stories in which the child can easily get confused and forget where it all started. In this case, fairy tales are good, in which everything is simple and clear, books with colorful pictures and a minimum of text.

For children of senior preschool and primary school age, literature about children like themselves is interesting. Adventure, travel, hero interaction. Such books help the child to find out what other children have in life, how they cope with different situations. These books are to some extent necessary for experiences that can be applied in life.

In elementary school, many children are very fond of various encyclopedias, they are such "Know-it-alls" who are occupied with the global ideas of the structure of the world, space, etc. They are interested in literally everything. Children want to understand and organize many things in their heads. This is the period when the child's cognitive activity is very actualized.

Teenagers love adventure, fantasy, fantasy, in general, something incredibly exciting, where you can feel like a hero.

When choosing a book, you can rely on age characteristics.

5. Read it yourself

You can give as many tips as you like on how to choose a book for a child, but the simplest recipe is to read not only the abstract yourself, but the entire book yourself. And after that, decide for yourself whether it is worth showing such a creation to your child or not. This is real concern. By the way, now there are many new interesting authors who can be discovered not only by children, but also by parents along with them.

6. Who wrote all this?

When I choose a book, and I read a lot, I pay special attention to the author's specialized education. This rule can also be applied to a children's book. It is clear that there are Russian folk tales written by people without any education. Then you need to focus on the meaning, content, about what we want to tell the child. It is very important what purpose is pursued in a particular fairy tale or story.

Let me stress once again: we are not talking about the fact that the presence of education is a fundamental point, and those authors who do not have it should be bypassed. In this case, as in Gaidai's comedy, it is worth “looking at questions more broadly, and treating people more gently,” that is, there should be a certain degree of flexibility in this matter.

By the way, in addition to information about the author, it does not hurt to read reviews about him and his works. This is also a good way to test a book and see if it suits your child or not.

7. The very classic

For many of us, our parents read the classics of children's literature, so why not use this technique to educate your own child? Such books can bring you closer to your child, because you will have mutual friends who can always be discussed.

8. Should be interesting

The older the child, the easier it is for him to make a choice and understand what he is interested in reading. Provided that he has a foundation that his parents laid.

As a rule, children love to read, in those families where it is customary to read, where the book is respected as a source of knowledge, discovery and joy.

If your child doesn't like reading, think about why? The answer is usually on the surface: either no one in the family does this at all, or the parents overdid it and did not give what was relevant to the child and thus discouraged the natural interest in learning. You can often hear: “My son is lazy and does not want to read….”. But laziness arises only when there is no interest. This means that you have chosen the wrong book for your child.

Meeting with a book is like meeting with a friend with whom it is interesting, fun, sometimes sad, but always exciting, so that you don't want to part. If parents manage to find such a book for their child, then the love of reading will begin.