When Fi asked me to write a guest blog for World Book Day I was thrilled but also scared. I had no idea what I could write, not being a seasoned blogger. So I figured it would help if I first introduced myself.
My name is Liz Pilling, I am married to Richard and we have 2 children Robert who is 9 and Emily who is 4, they are my full time job. My ‘work’ fits in around them, so when I’m not cooking, cleaning, school running, dog walking, church planning, baby sitting or chaperoning my mum who lives nearby, I am an Usborne Leader – and have been for over 7 years. For those of you who don’t know who Usborne are (I’m not sure there can be many of you), we are a children’s publisher in our 40th year of business (Children’s Publisher of the Year 2012).
I think you will all have heard about world book day as I know Fi has been blogging a bit about it over recent weeks (if not you can find out more here.) If you have a child in full time education you will have received a £1 World Book Day token to redeem in any UK bookshop (and also redeemable with Usborne Organisers).
Although this is an annual event which I wholeheartedly support, I am passionate about promoting literacy, reading and the general love of books every day of the year. This starts from an early age, and the benefits of sharing books with babies and toddlers really cannot be understated; there is a vast array of research to back this up.
Reading gives your child experience of different types of language, rhythms and sounds and teaches them about many topics which wouldn’t come up in conversation. But not only that, it is a wonderful way to bond with your child, and most of all it is great fun! With that in mind, I thought I would take this opportunity to pass on a few hints and tips about sharing books with littlies (You can request a full leaflet free by emailing me at [email protected])
Top tips to sharing books with littlies…
- Newborn babies like to look at bold patterns, particularly in black, white or bold colours. Black and white books are perfect as they show the defined outlines and contrasting colours.
- Babies love the sound of your voice as well as rhymes and songs, reading aloud to babies regularly will help them to learn how to talk, key words and the rhythm of language. A Nursery Rhyme book is perfect for this.
- Board books are perfect for older babies. The pages are thick enough for a baby to turn easily. Before you know, baby will know which way up a book goes and how to turn the pages. Babies love feeling textured patches, which are great for developing sensory awareness.
- Babies that have had opportunities to look at books will already be having fun without knowing any words. They will soon start to respond to the pictures that excite them.
- Children at toddler age love to choose which book to share. Sometimes, they want to hear the same one over and over again. This is great because the repetition gives them confidence. Hearing how words sound over again teaches them how they can say it too.
- Toddlers who see a lot of books start to learn that stories have a beginning, middle and an end. Children like listening to story patterns and the rhythmic sounds made by putting words together in a sentence. This is great preparation for learning to read.
- Most toddlers have quite a short attention span, so reading and sharing books little and often can work well. Stories often become an important part of a toddlers routine, and can be hugely pleasurable.
There are loads more ideas to help from birth to the end of primary school in one of our fabulous parent’s guides – Help your child to read and write.
What we will be doing this week to celebrate…
Well my children will be doing all sorts of activities at school, as well as lots of reading at home. Both of them absolutely love books, we have to wrestle them out of their hands at bedtime, and they have been know to sleep with their favourites – which is reassuring given my work!
My son has read most of our fiction catalogue, as well as all the non-fiction which is currently of interest to him, he has just finished the Harry Potter series, and is moving on to The Hobbit. He takes every opportunity to read – in bed, at the kitchen table, in the car and even on the toilet!
My daughter is just learning to read, but doing really well. She loves to try to read anything you put in front of her, from signs, to comics, to book titles on her brothers shelf (she has perfected reading the words “Harry” and “Potter” in recent weeks!) They love reading to each other, as well as to myself and my husband; “can Robert read me a bedtime story?” is often heard around 6.30pm in our house! Since it’s the start of the month they will both get to choose one of our fab new titles – and with a new sticker dolly dressing book out I know which will be top of Emily’s list!
As for me, it is a busy week and month in the Usborne calendar. I will be visiting schools with book fairs, sorting out sponsored reads, and counting up hundreds of pounds of free book orders from our local schools. I will also hopefully fit in some visits to our toddler groups and a couple of coffee mornings parties, to help the hosts earn lots of free books for their groups or families. I will also be having a special world book day sale on my Facebook page – and will be accepting any tokens of course. Then once all the orders are placed, I will curl up with a glass of wine and a good book, and hopefully have a relaxing mothers day!
I’m sure you can see why I love my job so much, talking to and advising parents on the use of books in the home, promoting reading in schools, selling and giving away some of the best books of the market, training my team to do the same and of course getting cuddles from babies and toddlers while their parents look at my books!
I would love you to come over to my facebook page and tell me what you are up to this World Book Day, and while you’re there follow the link to enter our prize draw – £320 worth of books on offer this month!
If you would like more information or to talk to me about anything you’ve read please do, I always love feedback. You can email me on [email protected], or you can go direct to my website here.
March 7, 2013
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