In our children’s book authors series, Karen King tells us about the importance of involving kids in the story of a book and what kids can learn from reading some of her books.
By Karen King
Hi everyone I’m a UK children’s author and writing tutor. I love writing children’s books. Children are such a wonderful audience to write for and to read to; eager to learn, open-minded and always ready to join in the story. I regularly visit schools to talk to and work with children so I know how important books are and how much pleasure children get from reading them.
As well as entertaining kids, books can be a fun way of teaching them things. Even very young children can learn a lot from books if you look at the pictures together and talk about what’s happening, involving the child with the story. Let’s take a look at a couple of my books for children and see what kids can learn from them.
I Don’t Eat Toothpaste Anymore!
This book is for pre-schoolers and is about a toddler called Abiola who relates the different things she can do as she is ‘big now.’ Little kids love looking at the pictures showing the contrast between Abiola as a baby and a toddler, and talking about what they were like as a baby and things they can do now they are older. They can learn a lot about growing and personal development from this book.
Silly Moo!
When an apple falls out of the tree onto Cow’s head she forgets where she lives so wanders around the farm trying to find her home. A great book to read to 3-6 year olds who love guessing if Cow has found the right home then lifting the flaps to see if they were right. They can learn about animals, the different homes they live in and join in with the different sounds the animals make.
Dolphin Rescue
An exciting holiday diary for 6-8 year olds with a fact section about real dolphin rescues. Kids can learn about writing a diary and some facts about how beached dolphins are rescued and returned back to the sea. A great topic for discussion about holidays, the seaside, dolphins and other sea creatures.
So remember, next time your child comes home with a book from school, don’t just read the story to them – talk about it, discuss what’s happening, what they can see in the pictures, how they feel about the story, relate it to their own experiences. Next week I’ll talk about some of my fiction for older children and the things kids can learn from the stories.
Karen King has been writing children’s books since the mid-eighties. She’s written for many children's magazines too including Sindy, Barbie, Winnie the Pooh and Thomas the Tank Engine. Some of her short stories were featured on Playdays BBC and some of her poems on the BBC One Potato, Two Potato website. She writes for all ages and in all genres. Story books, picture books, plays, joke books, she’s written them all!
She tutors for the Writer’s Bureau and runs writing workshops in schools.
