Frequently Asked Questions

For a younger child, you could start by picking three or four books with bright eye-catching covers. Or ask them to take a look at the books with you and see what catches their eye.

You can use the Five Finger Rule. Ask your child to read a sample page of the book. Each time they come across a very tricky word, or one they can’t read, they should put a finger up. If they have more than five fingers up by the end of the page, you should consider choosing an easier book.

You can help your child by being positive and encouraging and by showing them that reading is very much part of your life too.

Choose books that are related to their passion, make time to sit quietly together and encourage them to give it a try, making sure you praise them for their efforts. Make sure you make this part of your daily routine as it will get easier for them. Practice makes perfect!

A reluctant reader is one who, though they might be very able, is not willing to sit and read. Their failure to connect with books might be because they would rather do something more physical, or because they find it difficult and equate reading with hard work and frustration. Or it could be that the books to which they have access do not interest them.

A struggling reader is someone who is having difficulty learning to read. A reluctant reader is one who does not want to read, despite being an able reader. Sometimes a struggling reader is also reluctant as they are aware that they are behind their peers and might feel self-conscious.

You can start reading to your baby when they are just a few months old. It will help them to develop their talking skills. Parents who start reading to their baby at an early age are more likely to continue the habit of reading to their child.

Watch your child reading their current book. If they get through it very easily, you should try a slightly harder one. Conversely, if they are struggling with lots of words, try choosing a book with a slightly lower reading level.

You can read to your toddler whenever they are in the mood for a story! To develop best reading practices, we recommend that you make reading part of your daily routine, perhaps as part of your quiet time before bed.

All books count as reading! Some children are not terribly keen on novels and prefer to read books where the text is broken up with illustrations

It’s not a problem that your child favours fact books. If you want to open their eyes to fiction, you could start by choosing a story book related to the topic they like to read in fact books. If they like to read a history book about Victorian times, you could choose a story set in Victorian times.

You could try to widen your child’s reading by choosing a book which is similar to the books they already like, but written from a different perspective. For example, if they like reading adventure books, you could try them with an adventure set in a time in history, or a fantasy adventure book set in a mythical land.

If your child is really interested in football, you could choose a book with a football theme. This could be a fiction book with a football-mad main character, a biography of a footballer or even a football fact book.

We would be delighted to recommend some books. Simply send us a message with what your child enjoys reading or doing, and let us do the rest!

Although it might be somewhat tedious, many toddlers like the repetitive element of hearing the same book over and over. Studies have shown that this repetition helps children learn new vocabulary. So, no need to worry. Just keep reading. Over and over again!

There’s no set time, but we recommend that you try to spend 15 to 20 minutes each day reading to, or with, your younger child. This will help establish reading as a daily part of your routine, and will help ensure they continue to read as they grow older.

Never! If your child is still keen to sit and have a story read to them, enjoy this beautiful bonding time. It is also an opportunity to read them books at a level that might be trickier than they can read independently, encouraging them to persevere so they can hear better stories!