Visiting your local library (Originally written as part of Child Language Singapore blog)

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Those of us who live in Singapore** have a real treasure with the National Library Board. In my experience so far, it's easy to find a branch that's close to your home, work, or children's school.

Sometimes, however, when you walk into the Children's section of a library, you may feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of titles on the shelves. How is a parent to decide which books will be worth carrying home? You know, things made from the trunks of trees do get heavy if enough of them are piled into a bag. :)

Here are some of the things I look for when spotting books that can be useful in language therapy with children at 2 to 7 years old:

• Simplicity:

  
  
  • in terms of Language. The language level used in the book more or less matches that of my child audience. Think of the types of sentences your child says and the language they understand. If your child seems to lose interest, and you suspect that the book is written on too high of a language level, simplify what you say. Try shorter sentences, simpler vocabulary. You can even slow the pace of your reading. When you're ready to expose your child to new vocabulary, remember to present the new words alone (e.g. labeling pictures) or in simple sentences. 
    
    
  • In terms of topic. The story typically relates to experiences that are familiar to the child. I mean activities such as mealtimes, waking up, nighttime/going to sleep, injuries, work (e.g. cleaning up the house, going to school, building), and play. Even very young children typically have a solid understanding of these events-- which are actually multi-step processes in and of themselves. Reflecting on and talking about these activities with an adult gives children an opportunity to expand language skills on a solid foundation provided by their own knowledge of these very familiar processes.
    
    

• Predictable patterns and repetitive words or phrases. 

  This aspect is extremely important to me when selecting books for language therapy. The author creates a language structure, which becomes predictable because it repeats itself. Because it's the structure that repeats itself, not the exact words, the book actually becomes more entertaining, rather than boring. This structure, or scaffolding, supports the child's language as s/he reaches towards the next level, much like the metal scaffolds of a building being constructed. The element of repetition makes the language in the story more accessible to the child, and the child is more likely to try out some of these language structures in his/her own sentences.
  
  
  We see this type of language scaffolding used across the plots of a whole series of books (e.g. The Ted series, by Beaty and Lemaitre, which I will review later), and also at the level of sentences within a single book (e.g. Eric Carle books, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar: “On ___DAY, he ate through NUMBER, COLOR, FRUIT. But he was still hungry.”).

• Clear plot and storyline. 

  When reading the story, it is clear who the main characters are, where the story takes place (setting), and that there is a beginning (usually with a “problem” that the main character faces), middle (what the character does to try to solve his/her problem) and ending (some sort of resolution or consequence to all that happens). And, as stated earlier, for younger children, all of this would ideally be related to some life situation that they have direct experience with.

• Something that your child finds entertaining and interesting, and that you, as the parent and reader, are able to enjoyably read and discuss within your own realistic time frame. 

  Children can perceive when the adult is really putting energy and enthusiasm into the telling. It makes a big difference when we rush through a story in monotone, vs when we are able to put emphasis into key words and expressions, using funny voices for characters, changing the intonation and volume of the voice as necessary. Children also feel validated when the adult seems to also enjoy reading the story they ahve selected. But, let's be honest, it is difficult to give it all we've got at storytime if we find the book too long for the time we have. Consider realistically your child's and your own attention span, energy level, and time available for reading stories, and do your best with the resources you have!

The benefits of reading to our children are clear. In subsequent entries, I will be sharing with you some of the wonderful books I've stumbled upon at the NLB, organized and presented by author, which, I hope, will make them more easy to locate in the libraries.

Sources:

Darian, Shea. (2001) Seven Times the Sun: Guiding your Child through the Rhythms of the Day. USA. Gilead Press.

Miller, L., Gillam, R. B., & Peña, E. (2001). Dynamic Assessment and Intervention: Improving Children's Narrative Abilities. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.

Pepper, J. and Weitzman, E. (2004) It Takes Two to Talk. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Hanen Centre.

Weitzman, E. and Greenberg, J. (2002) Learning Language and Loving It. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Hanen Centre.

** written in 2013, Singapore