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Children's books are not just short stories and colourful images. They aid a child's development in a number of different ways. The most obvious is learning how to read and building a vocabulary. Other than those, there is still a long list of advantages that kids can get from reading.
Bedtime stories every night strengthens the bond between parents and children. When reading a book with mum or dad, a child feels closer to them. They feel safe. They feel loved. Knowing that their parents are always there for them, kids won't be afraid of making decisions and trying new things. Also, reading after a long day helps kids relax and recharge their minds for another day. Reading their favourite story, going into their favourite magical world, meeting with their favourite characters will help them relax after a rough day
Speaking of favourite magical worlds, children's story books also sparks children's imagination and storytelling skills. Through regular reading, kids become more exposed to descriptive words found in the stories. Even without pictures, kids learn how to visualise what's in the book and understand the story. And as months and years pass, you'll be surprised to know that they can compose their own story-line with their own plot and characters. They can even make up the conversations between characters and narrate the whole story. This is how kids develop their communication skills. Being able to speak with different types of people is an important life skill. It boosts their confidence to speak their minds and share their opinions to other people.
Children's story books also teach kids to read and write. During their first few months and years of reading, kids first learn about letters, numbers, shapes, and colours. As they spend more time reading, together with parents' help, they gradually learn how to read and write short words, then short sentences, until they can read the whole book. Stories written by famous children's book authors are structured so that kids can easily read them. Stories like Pig the Winner, Pig the Star, and Pig the Fibber by Aaron Blabey are perfect examples of such books. The author combined beautiful illustrations with short but valuable stories for kids to enjoy and learn from.
Reading also helps kids in developing their focus. It takes concentration for a child to be able to read and understand the story in a book. Reading at an early age which in turn develops focus prepares kids for school where a lot of concentration is needed.
Out of all the benefits of reading, one stands out: values. Children's books are wonderful ways to teach kids about different principles, what's wrong and what's not, different cultures, different beliefs, and many more. Children learn how to respect the different people and their principles in life.
Reading develops kids' empathy. While exploring different stories, children get to know different characters and go to different places as described in the books. Empathy is developed as they understand a character's perspective and their emotions in the story. When they can relate to a certain character in the book, that means children can share the feelings of another person in the real world as well.
It's not just with people. Kids will also learn how to respect and understand other living creatures such as plants and animals. There are many children's books that feature animals as primary characters. A story entitled The Cat Wants Custard is about a cat who desperately wants to eat his favourite treat. He tried all sorts of things to let his owner know what he wants but it all turns out to be funny when all a cat can say is "meow". You should definitely add this book to your to-be-read pile.
Continue browsing to see the different amazing books by amazing authors loved by many children.