Reading with Children

I have so much to thank my parents for!

Reading with children is one of the most important gifts you can give them, from a young age.

We were a family of readers from as far back as I can remember. Books filled shelves, they sat on tables, they rested on bedside tables, in hands, they were everywhere.

Before I could read myself, my parents read to me, and I loved nothing more than to listen to the story come alive, as I tried to make sense of the markings on the pages.

If there were some pictures too, all the better! I particularly remember enjoying the beautiful books by English author Mary Norton, The Borrowers. There were a few of them, each a fun and exciting adventure with the little people who lived under the floorboards.

Those stories brought my imagination to life in wonderful ways and gave me such enjoyment as a child. To be honest, I'm pretty sure they gave my mum as much enjoyment too, when she read them to me!

Once I could read myself there was no stopping me, but without those precious early years of being read to, I might have missed out on a whole world.

Here are some of the many benefits of reading with your children:

It helps your child to develop early literacy skills;

It awakens your child's curiosity and their imagination;

It teaches children to ask questions;

It helps your child develop social and communication skills;

It expands your child's vocabulary, teaching them new words all the time;

It enhances concentration and brings a thirst for knowledge;

And, most important of all, it teaches your children to value books and stories!

Precious time spent together - Parent and Child

Reading a book with your child is precious time spent together, in the most pleasurable of ways.

When a story has pictures too, it can be great fun to examine the picture together, discussing what's happening. Children love the interaction and the discovery of visual meaning to the words they've been listening to.

As I created my illustrations for The Little Cat who thought she was a Dog, I took great pleasure in imagining future readers listening to their mum or dad, as they read the story, and then examining the pictures together!

I hope they give them as much pleasure, when they look at them, as they did me, when I painted them.

Here's a sneak peek at another of my illustrations from the book.

It depicts the animals all busy with cat and dog tests, as they try to ascertain whether Gypsy is a cat or a dog!

And at this point I think I'll sign off for now, there's a book downstairs with my name on it... pleasure awaits...