Choosing the Right Material

Here's a checklist to help you choose stories and rhymes which will work well in your session – whatever age the children are.

Choose a book

• That you like yourself
• That reflects the children's age, interests and attention spans. (Though sometimes older children like to 'relax' with an old favourite which they have moved on from, and never under-estimate how children of all ages rise and respond to ideas you think might be too old for them)
• With a strong, not too complex storyline
• The right length – often around 5-10 minutes for each story
• With surprise and anticipation
• With characters the children can identify with
• With parts for the children to join in: chorus, repeated phrases, rhymes
• With humour and fun
• With pop-ups and flaps (these are good for starting off a story time, attracting attention)
• With strong, interesting pictures which tell and add to the story (think about how it will look to the children at the back)
• With clear, bold, easily read text (this will help you especially, as you hold up the book and need to read the text side-ways or upside down!)

Have a look at Reading Interest and Awareness (Word, 36.5kb). These are guidelines produced by Swindon Libraries, to help in choosing the right story for the right age. You can download this document.