Growing a Reader: Kids' Books, Tips and More

In her wonderful book Reading Magic, Children's book author Mem Fox espouses a storeis-first approach over a strictly phonics-based approach to teaching kids how to read. Fox believes that at first, it is more important for children to develop a love of stories than it is for them to learn how to make the right sounds out of letters and their combinations. Is this a radical approach to growing a reader? I think not.

For me, a stories-first approach is logical. I agree with the author's assertion that if children are entertained by wonderful stories they're more likely to develop a joyful attitude toward learning how to read. And if they are enthusiastic about learning to read, that makes the job of teaching them to read that much easier.

Fox says that children need to hear a thousand stories read aloud before they begin to learn to read. Who has the time to read their child a thousand stories you might ask? Well, if you break that number down into three stories per day, you can easily deliver one thousand stories in one year. That number is definitely manageable.

Folktales are a wonderful font of inspiration for stories which ache to be told. Most of us already know the simple narratives of a couple classic fairytales by heart: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Cinderella, The Gingerbread Boy etc. And if feeling brave, we could probably stumble along, sharing these wonderful stories with our kids, without relying on textual formats.

Aside from re-telling these classic stories, we shouldn't underestimate the power of personal narratives. Stories can come from anywhere, including our daily lives.

If you choose to work towards the goal of sharing one thousand stories with your child per year, don't forget to look beyond the tried, tested, and true catalogue of children's books, and towards yourself, as both story-lover and storyteller. Below are some examples of books that can get you started along this journey.