Children’s Literature

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Tips for Reading Children’s Books Out Loud

There is nothing more satisfying than reading to your child out loud and transforming the text in the book into something that feels like a living experience to your child. But, how do you do that?  How do you read the stories in an appealing enough way that it keeps their attention?

Here are a few easy tips to follow:

1)  Remember, reading out loud is not the same as reading to yourself. This is probably the biggest mistake people make. You are not only reading the book for kids, you have to animate it! You have to pack as much energy into the story as possible. Make it live!

2)  If you are nervous about your big debute as a children’s book reader, practice a few books without the kids present. Just as with anything else, practice makes perfect!

3)  Enunciate your words clearly. Don’t slur or mumble. Every word must be understood.

4)  Be animated. Go beyond your normal boundaries. Read with enthusiasm and excitement. Ad lib a little - you can even change one of the character’s names to be that of the child you’re reading to!

5)  Get into the characters. When you’re reading dialog, imagine you’re that person speaking. Try to make each character different in some simple way- like slightly changing the voice or your facial expression as you read different character’s parts.

6)   Don’t rush. Making mistakes will pull the kids out of the imaginary world you’re putting them in. Take your time, but allow your eyes to run a little ahead of your lips, that way you’ll know what’s coming and can put the right emphasis on it.

7)   Imagine you’re the kid that you’re reading to. Imagine the eager look of excitement on that kid’s face as the plot unfolds. You are creating a movie in the kid’s head! Have fun with it.  Be it.  They will always remember storytime with Mom and Dad.

So to wrap it up, let your hair down, allow your inner child to emerge, make some silly faces and noises, ad lib a little and just watch the reactions as the kids become totally involved and clamor for more when you’re done.

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