Ideas to get your child reading

Research has shown that children who begin reading from an early age develop more of an appetite for books and tend to perform better at school. Whilst some kids seem to be natural bookworms, others sometimes need a bit of a prod before sitting down to read, and with such a wide range of titles now available there is something that should interest any prospective reader. If you’re a parent worried that your child isn’t reading enough, sometimes delving into your own past can provide great solutions.

The recent success of the ‘Harry Potter’ series has highlighted how well stories can capture the imagination as the whole nation — child and adult alike — got swept up with Hogwarts fever. The success of the books was quickly capitalised on and they were turned into box office hits, but still children continued to read them despite knowing they could wait and see the film version.

Many reviewers have predicted that JK Rowling’s work will become a must-read for generations to come but there have been concerns raised that some readers are not moving on from Potter, rather they are just reverting to their old ways after finishing the last page. Whilst Harry’s escapades are likely to be enjoyed for decades to come, books from your childhood — and before — are likely to still hold relevance and interest in today’s youngsters.

Like Rowling’s series, CS Lewis’ ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ has seen success on the big screen recently, despite being written in the 1950s. In 2005, Johnny Depp starred in the movie version of Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, more than 40 years after it was written. Some of Dahl’s other books — for example ’Matilda’ and ‘James and the Giant Peach’ — have been turned into films as well, but many of his other stories — such as ‘The Twits’ and ‘The Enormous Crocodile’ — have yet to make the conversion and can only be enjoyed in book form.

Other titles from years gone by — ones that you or even your parents may have read during childhood — still enjoy great success. The 1950s ‘Cat in the Hat’ series is still popular and Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’, which was written in 1865, is still enjoying success and has never been out of print almost 150 years later.

Other classics, including works by Beatrix Potter and Enid Blyton, remain ever popular but if you want to mix up your reading list of the past with some current titles, staff in bookshops will be happy to recommend popular children’s books such as the Star Wars books series to help get your kid motivated into reading.

Disclaimer: Matthew Pressman writes for a wide variety of commercial clients. This article is intended for information purposes only and readers should seek additional information before taking any actions based on its content.