Reading for life

FEW things thrill my daughter more than getting together with Katie Morag - or Katie Bobag as 21-month-old Eva calls her. Except, perhaps, a rendezvous with Maisie, or Miffy, or Kipper the dog. Recently, she has been excited about a new friend, a grown-up called Dave. He is unshaven and smelly, has a penchant for bats and spiders and lives in a cave.

Before you ring social services, let me quickly tell you he is a character from her "book of the moment" - Caveman Dave, which we borrowed from the library last week.

I'm sure these fictional friends play as big a role in Eva's life as her real ones - her toddler mates at nursery and playgroup, her beloved grandparents and even mum and dad.

I swear that the joy on her face when I go in to lift her from her cot in the morning, or when her granny and papa visit from Scotland, is the same as when we pick up a Maisie mouse book to read, or sit down to share a caper with Kipper, or an island adventure with Katie.

Eva is exceptionally fond of books. But then she has been surrounded by them for most of her short life. It was my friend Emily in London who first encouraged me to start reading to her. She had read to her daughter, Olivia, since she was four months old.

She visited when Eva was a few months old and came laden with books. "It's never to early to start," she insisted.

So we did. At first, it was just soft cloth books with farm animals on them. Then we moved on to brightly-coloured board books, often with flaps, which Eva loved to find and open to reveal some hidden object. Then, quite soon, it was simple stories, rhymes, song books and books about colours and numbers.

Not quite two, Eva's language is already developing well, and it is fair to assume that her love of books and story telling has helped her hone her communication skills.

In fact, research shows there is a direct link between how well children do at school and how early they get into books.

A study by a team at Birmingham University found that seven-year-old pupils who had been given books from the age of nine months achieved results 20 per cent higher than other children - not just in English, but in maths and science tests too.

The research was carried out on behalf of Bookstart, a national project which works with local health visitors to give all new parents a set of starter books for their child at nine months. The Bookstart pack also contains information on reading to babies and encourages them to join the local library.

York health visitor Yvonne Barron, based at Clementhorpe health centre, says parents should make a point each day to do some storytelling with their babies.

"I encourage them to start as early as five or six weeks. Babies love to listen to the rhythm and intonation of your voice.

"If you speak slowly and make it exciting, they really enjoy it," she says.

"Try to find a quiet time each day for reading or telling stories. Get into a bed- time routine of having a bath, then reading a story as children drink their milk," she suggests.

Choosing the right books is important so little ones don't become bored. Yvonne recommends sticking to large books, with big, colourful pictures and 'peekaboo' ones with lots of flaps for little hands to play with.

Last year head teachers warned that the verbal skills of children starting school were at an all-time low, with some five year olds unable to speak properly - a fault of too much TV and not enough time talking with parents - so you see how setting aside time every day for books and stories with your child should pay dividends.

York city libraries are also working to get the message across that books are for babies too.

They have recently started storytelling sessions for under-fives, which are proving popular with parents.

At least 40 mums and dads turned up with their tots for the first event at the Central Library in Museum Street, although that figure has settled down to about 20 each week.

The hour-long session on Tuesdays from 10.30-11.30am, which is free, begins with a member of staff doing some story telling, followed by a couple of songs.

After about half an hour, a big toy box is brought out and the children dig out stickle bricks, soft toys, jigsaws and the like, while parents chat or browse the large junior library for books to check out for their child.

"The aim is to get the idea across that the library is for everybody," says principal library assistant Marion Brookes. "We want to get parents and small children used to coming into the library. It is not a place where they have to be quiet, but somewhere they can have a lot of fun. We want to get away from the fusty image that some people still have about libraries."

At the session I attended with Eva, the toddlers sat captivated while library staff Karen Tomkinson and Julie Travis took it in turn to read from some simple books.

Next was a jolly rendition of The Wheels On The Bus followed by the all-action Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, and then it was toy time.

I had a chance to chat to some other mums and pick some books for Eva to take home - children can take out up to ten books at a time on their own card.

ZsuZsi Gotts brings her two-year-old son Andras to the session every week. She says: "I am a teacher and I have met lots of children who don't like books and it is much more difficult to teach them to read and write.

"That is why I think it's so important to start at home. If you want your child to be well educated, they need to like books."

Julie Travis offers the last word: "If you can't read or write, you are held back in so many ways. If you can read, you can do anything."

Besides Tuesday morning sessions at York Central Library, stories and songs for the under-fives take place at Haxby Library every Wednesday from 2.30-3pm and at Strensall Library from 2.15-2.45pm on Tuesdays in term-time only.

Getting started... and choosing the right books

Bookstart has some guidelines to help parents get into reading to their tots.

DO - Make it fun and give your baby lots of praise

DO - Talk about the books and its pictures even if you think your baby doesn't understand

DO - Let your baby hold and handle the book and turn the pages

DO - Take your baby to the library and let them choose books

DO - Read a book lots of times because your baby won't get bored

DON'T - Worry if your baby chews the book (even a library book); expect too much or criticise; be disappointed if baby isn't interested, just try again later; have the TV on while trying to read or feel guilty about taking time out to read to your baby.

CHOOSING the right book for your child's age is an important task. At first, go for simple pictures with bright colours and unfussy backgrounds and rhyming text or simple stories which are fun to read aloud.

Ask at the library or in the children's section of a book shop for advice about picking books for the required age range.

The website www.wordpool.co.uk has a useful list of starter books for tots. Another valuable source is The Rough Guide To Children's Books (0-5 years), Nicholas Tucker, £5.99, available from all good bookshops.

Updated: 11:05 Tuesday, March 30, 2004