Choosing the perfect gift for any child is proving more and more difficult. With so many toys and activities to select from, you can be certain there is a huge choose in shops and online AND plenty of ways to make the wrong choice.
Assuming you have already selected the desired “toy” for your child (hint, ask them to produce a xmas list!) what other gift can be considered?
Make learning (and reading) fun has always been our motto. It is never too early to introduce children to books and so at this time of year, what better gift to consider giving to the young children in your life, than a book.
Adding a complementary toy with your book gift will ensure your present is a hit.
Example, for stories about bear, monkeys or orangutans it is easy to find soft toys that resemble the animal in your storybook. If your chosen book features cooking you can include an apron, rolling pin and cooking bowls to bring alive the action with your child. Adventure stories, that are popular with boys, are also easy to complement: trucks, cars, aeroplanes or pirate costumes will help enliven the imagination of your little one once the book is read. Or design your own adventure: take a mystery bus ride and challenge your child to guess the final destination (park, museums, ice cream shop, etc).
If you want your child to love books, then we encourage you to share your reading activity with them. In the early months they only clearly see black and white, but they will quickly appreciate looking a bright colours and shapes. So choose books with colourful illustrations.
By the time a baby is one year old, they have learnt all the sounds they need to speak their native language. So the more opportunities they have to hear you read aloud or simply talk to them, will ensure they will quickly be able to talk. Your child will develop good listening skills and hearing you speak will assist them to build their own vocabulary skills.
You might be relieved to learn that when your children are really young, you don’t just have to read children’s books. I recall my husband used to read aloud the newspaper to our children! He felt that when they were babies he could achieve two goals: entertain the children by reading to them but at the same time learn about a news items at the same time! He would use funny voices to highlight different parts of the article, and the silly expressive sounds he used, when reading, ensured the babies found the whole experience amusing. This activity developed a strong bond between the babies and fostered a positive emotional development that continued as they grew older.
Of course, this type of reading will not work once they understand your language!
Never too young to love a book!
Our colourful Radio Ron’s Postcards from Borneo series has proved a hit with young children, as they are fun books that “grow” with the toddler.
Babies : love the bright colourful pictures.
Toddlers : love to hunt for Omar the Orang Utans, who is hiding on each page.
5-7 year olds : love to read the story. For those that have the Audio Ebook version (for ipads) they can enjoy listening to the narration and music. They can then try to read the story alone or along with the narration.
Age 7+ : The books can still amuse the older child. The Fact File about orangutans at the back of each book, offer environmental information and help educate the child about the danger these animals are facing in the rainforest. The Crocodile Attack book also offers fun puzzles and game ideas that are interesting.
Older children studying English as a second language, have enjoyed reading these colourful books as the text is easy to read but the books don’t look like they are designed for “babies!”.
For the younger readers, we are offering a FREE ebook (PDF only) download on Orangutan to the Rescue this link. (Also available for order in print format in French).
In the same series we have Radio Ron’s postcards from Borneo “Crocodile Attack”. It has been beautifully illustrated with parent and educator notes as well as environmental information, puzzles, games and poster. These books support orangutan charities.
We hope you will be inspired to check out some of the wonderful book titles available for children. If you have no budget to buy a book, then please consider visiting the library where staff will be more than happy to help you browse, select and loans books for the Christmas holidays.
We wish you all a lovely Christmas and New Year.
p.s. Check out the discount promotions on the LULU.com site to secure some fun books for the young children in your life.
Make Reading Fun! 