do you know, I don't think they answered that one Soren, I did ask. I enjoyed the chat too so if you are still reading Leonie and Susan, thanks - and CAN we have a similar book for older children please

I know they've gone now - but I'm impressed, reading this - some good answers. I may even buy the book...

Wonder if they've thought of writing one for older children?

Thanks Leonie, will e-mail you via MN. Very kind of you to take the time.

Thanks everyone - I've really enjoyed it!

Well the hour's up - Many thanks to Susan and Leonie for answering our questions. Don't forget their book 'The Ultimate First Book Guide' is now available with lots of tips and recommendations on books for children. You can visit their site here

That was fun!

Thank you Rachel and all at MumsNet - I hope we've been of use

The Ultimate First Book Guide has two siblings - the Ultimate Book Guide (8-12) and the Ultimate Teen Book Guide. Hopefully we've got all ages covered.

PS...(Now what I want to write is the Ultimate Book Guide for Over-stressed Women!)

Hi TotalChaos, you asked a tricky one "I would be interested in what books you would recommend for young children with language problems such as difficulties with receptive and expressive language" and I need to know a little more detail. Please do feel free to email me via Mumsnet, they've kindly said that they'll forward your message.

Emmybel, for your 7-year-old, try Cosmo and the Magic Sneeze by Gwyneth Rees. Some of the younger Anne Fines are great such as The Angel of Nitshill Rd.

Emmybel, for the pop-ups try 10 Wriggly Wiggly Caterpillars. Don't Put Your Finger in the Jelly Nelly by Nick Sharratt is great, as is Ketchup on Your Cornflakes. The Jack Tickle books such as The Very Busy Bear are great, though liable to fall apart. And some good books with moving parts that are quite sturdy (because they're made of board) are the 'Busy' series, such as Busy Airport and Busy Beach, though the stories are quite young for a 2-year-old.

Emmybel - regarding your 7yrold - has she tried Pippi Longstocking? Oh, and does she prefer real life to fantasy???

I suspect Susan will answer too!

thank you for your replies
(she is quite a cute kid and has built herself a little den under my desk, complete with a small plug in night light, cushions, a few toys and a stack of books. )
She is (literally) surrounded by lovely books but adapts all of the stories to suit her whims and fantasies. Interestingly, she is happy to vary these but when I read it has to be word perfect or she asks me to go back and redo it! I am reassured about the repetition thing and maybe it is just her habit. It is strange the way she views books as launch pads for her own stories rather than following the original plot of the book and as a result seems to see reading the words as getting in the way of "her" story! She gets quite upset when I suggest I read her the "real" story - and maybe that is where the problem lies.
Anyway, enough talking about my child and her whims. Thanks for your thoughts, I will try the offering 2 books idea and will definitely order the book about helping children to read. Her distinct objection to the "words" part of reading will need addressing soon as she starts school this year.
Many thanks

Leonie, do you want to answer emmybel's question about her 7-year-old and I'll think about pop-ups?!

Two questions:
Firstly, my 2 year old son LOVES pop-up books or anything with flaps and movement. He loves Wiggly Pig and Kipper particularly.We need some new pop-ups and wondered whether you could suggest some to us. They need to be sturdy as he is quite rough with them!
Next question: my daughter is seven and just got into reading longer books.She's Loved some of the Jacqueline Wilsons but think we've exhausted the ones that she likes.Some seem a bit old for her and some are too depressing!She is very much a girly-girl(loves secret diaries and best friend clubs etc but not into fairies). I'm a bit stuck as to which series/books she may enjoy. Can you help?Many thanks.

Batters, so glad that Journey to the River Sea is a hit. I'm a big fan of Eva Ibbotson. Try 'The Star of Kazan' next.

Effieperine, I so agree! And with early readers for them not to make the text too wild and zany - there's time for that when the kids can actually read independently!

Cappuccino,

hello there - you don't mention if your daughter is wearing reading glasses? If the Rainbow magic print is too small, then she is going to struggle. I'd go for picture books, definitely, and then the early readers that have clear, bold text. But I can see how it must be a struggle for her when the simple mechanics of reading from a page re a trial and reading off the screen is easier.

I'd like to put in a plea for illustrators not to put black text on a dark background as it is amlost impossible to read in a dim bedtime light

The Snail and the Whale is particularly hard
<peers short-sightedly>

Hi LemonTart,

(the picture of you typing with your 4yrold sitting on your feet is too sweet!)

I wonder what she is getting from the constant repetition of the book she must, by now, know by heart? I suspect she will eventually grow tired of it, but will that be before you tear your hair out! I'd be inclined to offer two books, one fresh one as well as the over-read one - input as much zing into the fresh one and as much dullness into the other...

lemontart,
I love the idea of Spiderman appearing in Room on the Broom. Perhaps we should suggest it to Julia Donaldson for a sequel!

Lemontart, I can truly sympathise, because we've had to read our 2-year-old You Choose! by Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart about a thousand times now. It's wonderful and I'd recommend it, but it begins to wear thin after a bit.

Unfortunately this trend of asking for the same thing night after night... after night, is a well-known one, and to a certain degree you probably just have to put up with it, as young children do just love repetition. Might it work if you tried saying you will read her Bright Stanley so long as you can read a different book first? Or keep Bright Stanley for bedtimes but keep some other stories downstairs to read together during the day?

TheHonEnid,

Hi there - great news that you're reading to your daughter, and yes, you reading the 'classics' will help enormously. Is she the one really into Rainbow Magic?

hi there
thank you
As I type she is sitting on my feet (yes on!) "reading" Room on the Broom in her own 4 yr old way, adapting it to include a dramatic last minute rescue by spiderman - chatters non stop.
It is just this strange ritual of mummy only allowed to read one set book and no variance that worries me. I have been going along with it but wonder if I should be putting my foot down. I am happy she enjoys books, although shows no interest in learning to read the words as she can "read the pictures myself and no mummy helping" lol

Saffy1, hmm, I think I'd go for the top-end picture books. The best thing might be to chose together - sometimes having that sort of direct input really enthuses a child. Or the Ahlbergs Happy Families series is another good one!

Hello,

Leonie will have some comments about your question, but I should just say that I tink the thing to focus on is getting her to enjoy books, regardless of whether she's reading them to herself or you're reading them to her.

In terms of reading to her, if she enjoys information books, Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is? is great.

Our book (Ultimate First Book Guide) has some good features about early reading, including one called 'Help! My child doesn't like reading'

Marina: Holmes short stories also good place to start (I think I read those before the novellas). I'd also think about John Buchan tho it would need a lot of explaining on changing attitudes to race etc. (bloody good stories though and many still in print). Also (thinking about more vintage boy's stuff) Huck Finn? Ooh, and RL Stevenson - Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Catriona...

(any way of getting my DS to grow up quicker? )

ooh and forgot to say dd is reading Journey to the Sea at school, and really enjoying it, so your recommendation is spot on!

Marina - Persephone Press are wonderful!

Thanks for that Leonie. We'll give those a go - 'Monster and Frog' in particular sound right up his street. My son hasn't grasped reading yet. He gets books sent home from school each week, which he enjoys 'reading' (following the patterns' etc) and he's familar with most of the letters and letter sounds now so he's getting there. Are there any books you can recommend that we buy or get from the library that he can read to me at home?

Thank you .

I've just googled her and did read Stormy Petrel - but had forgotten about her. She looks wonderful, thanks
I see Girls Gone By have reissued some of her titles - I think there is more of a market for vintage reissues than the big publishers realise. I am a fan of Persephone Press for example

How and should you deal with a pre schooler who insists on the same book every single night? - big tantrums if offered anything other than the chosen book. We have a big collection of wonderful picture books, all the classics and her big sister reads a huge amount.. My 4 yr old has insisted on Bright Stanley every night since, Autumn last year. She will look at other books herself but this is the only one she lets me read to her. Is it my boredom and I should go along with it or should I really work at this and vary her bedtime reading?

Funny you should say that Effie, he is eyeing up dh's Hound of the Baskervilles once he has finished George's Secrets of the Universe, good call

ooh only just seen this

have a 7 year old (Yr 2) not the greatest reader though v bright, finds reading quite hard actually, needs v big print and hasn't got the idea of spelling out words really yet either

am trying to keep her interest with nice books to read together eg I read Harry Potter, Charlotte's Web; and getting her fact books (she likes the I Wonder Why the Wind Blows and other questions about our planet)

but she would rather play on her computer even though the stuff she is doing is often Good For Her (eg Key Stage 1 Literacy Games) she would rather do most things than read, and since she is physically disabled I think reading would be a good thing for her to love

she can't really tackle Rainbow Fairies, print too small and dense as yet

dh and I love books, house is full of them, so we do Give Good Example

Hi Marina,

yes, the comfort gained from re-reading old and much loved books can't be ignored. I do it myself - my Georgette Heyers are very well thumbed!

And don't get me on the subject of what should be re-printed. Did you ever read any Violet Needham? Criminally unavailable for years, at least a few are now around.

Hello EffiePerine, Yes, the literacy strategy is certainly not designed for encouraging reading enjoyment. Having said that, if your child is lucky enough to have a good teacher who is passionate about books, then they will enjoy reading at school. But either way, the best plan for keeping up your child's love of reading is to keep focussing on sharing books in the home (without ever forcing it, of course). The more books there are lying around and the more you share them together, the more likely it is that he/she will continue to read for pleasure.

Marina: what about Sherlock Holmes?

EffiePerine,

Hi - I suspect Susan will answer this one too, but I want to put in a word. the Literacy drive is great, but it SO needs the fun to be part of the home input. I'm all for having a serious (!) reading book that's from school, and then having something fun for home - there are great books out there for boys and girls who want something light. Oh, and for the fun books, let them read what they want - even if that is to re-read Horrid Henry for the 18th time and they're in Year4!

<shudders at thought of ORT>

I am going to be a bad parent I can tell...

Thanks for that leonie
We have indeed been raiding our own hoard of books from that period and so far he has enjoyed some Leon Garfield and Paul Berna
The Paul Bernas are in pretty bad shape though, I wish someone would reprint these
Your book will be perfect for dd, who is four and just starting to learn. Is it usual for Reception children to suddenly want to spend more time with their baby board books again when confronted with the dreaded Sunshine Spirals and ORT?

ensure

typing while eating sadwiches not a good plan!

Rachel and Susan,

I adored being read to - and can still remember my father reading to me, as it was something so special. I feel for the kids who don't get that experience - sharing books is wonderful!

And, actually, if he'd offered when I was at college - I may even have said yes!

This is a question in advance for me, as DS is a year and a half and still at the point-and-ug stage of reading. I love reading for pleasure, but am a bit concerned that the literacy drive will put him off reading when he gets to school age. How do you enreu reading stays fun when it becomes work as well?

Marina - yes, this is a tough one, and the opposite problem (older kids who have problems reading at all) is addressed far more fully by the publishing world. In your case, after Twig, I'd find out how much he liked the fantasy element, and maybe go for almost anything by Eva Ibbotson. In fact a lot of books published back in the 50s. 60s and 70s would be perfect - well written, complexly plotted but without the 'issues' that turn up so relentlessly these days.

Hello batters,

You could try some of the younger Philip Pullmans, which are wonderful - I Was a Rat, for example, and The Scarecrow and His Servant. Eva Ibbotson is wonderful for this age - try Journey to the River Sea. And Hilary McKay is totally fantastic - try her on Saffy's Angel.

SorenLorensen - hi!

Books for boys who are becoming independent as readers... OK. I'd go for Eoin Colfers ^The Legend of Spud Murphy^ and sequels, Elizabeth Singer Hunt's ^Jack Stalwart^, ^Akimbo and the Lions^ by Alexander McCall Smith ... and yes - many more in the books

Saffy1 - there are some great 'intermediate' readers out there (we've included a whole feature on them in our book). Some of my own favourites are in the Bananas series from Egmont. ^Big Dog and Little Dog Go Sailing^ by Selina Young and the wonderful ^Monster and Frog^ series by Rose Impey are worth a look.

georget, I think that there is absolutely no age at which you should stop reading to your kids. Reading stories at bedtime is a wonderful thing in so many ways, and for as long as the child still enjoys it, it's a great thing to continue doing.

Hello kaphc,

You could try Fairy House by Kelly McKain, Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (these are fab) or Tilly Mint Tales by Berlie Doherty.

Hi luminarphrases,
The Little Princess books are lovely. You could also try the original Miffy series, and the original Thomas the Tank Engine

Thanks for the invite, Rachel - I hope we can be of some help

Hi ChampagneSupernova,

The best way to pass on your passion for books is to start sharing them with your baby pretty much right from the start. Babies love nothing more than sitting on a parent’s knee, receiving their full attention, and if there are some colourful pictures to look at, so much the better!
As you suggest, it never makes sense to force books on a child, but the more you offer to share them and the more you have lying round the house (and also the more the child sees you reading books of your own), the more likely it is that they’ll become an avid reader.

Hi everyone,

We're looking forward to the chat.

Hi there!

Hello and welcome to Susan and Leonie who will be with us for the next hour discussing all things about reading with kids and children's books. Over to your Susan and Leonie....

It looks great I agree soren - I'd love to see one for older children too

I'd like some ideas for my 6 year old ds (you're going to say "buy our book!" aren't you ?) There seems to be a real dearth of boys' books for that age - he adored the Littlenose books, which I got him for his birthday (but there aren't any more, damnit!) and we've tried some Dahl (the Twits and Charlie) but he's really too old for picture books and not quite old enough for a lot of non-picture books. Ds1 loved Dr Seuss at this age but ds2 can take him or leave him.

I've just looked at the sample pages from your book and the 'Nicolas' books sound like something he might like.

testing

dd1 (8) doesnt have much confidence in her own reading but loves me to read to her - she has been off school this week and I have read her Beowulf, some of 1001 nights (actually rather adult ) and Erik the viking (blardy Brilliant). But she can just about manage an Usborne Series One version of Puss in Boots to read aloud to me. I just hope if i can pack in as much good lit as I can she will get it from me if not from hersfelf IYSWIM

fab question, Marina.

<<Georget, my dd is nearly 10, I still read to her every night. Recently we have got a new system going where after I have read to her, she reads to herself for 20 mins or so. This seems to work really well for us.>>

Susan and Leonie, have you any recommendations for a capable reader, girl aged 10 in a few months. She loved St Clare's (Enid Blyton), pah-pahed The Mystery series though. Adored Harry Potter, Humphrey the Hamster and The Iron Man in more recent weeks. She isn't really interested in Jacqueline Wilson any more, hasn't been for a few years.

Many thanks.

I would happily read to ds (8) every night but it's an occasional thing these days as he is such a voracious bookworm he wants to be left alone. I know there are many worse reading problems to complain about though
Susan and Leonie, I'd love some guidance or views on what you do with a child who is capable of reading intellectually complex stuff but needs careful guidance in choice of reading material in terms of content and emotional maturity.
Please don't suggest the local library as they are so nice there but their cash-strapped stock is all Goosebumps etc, and we live in a part of London where you no longer have subject specialists sitting at the desk - they don't choose the stock either
He is 8 and just polished off the Twig Trilogy from the Edge Chronicles, in two weeks, to give you some idea. I am starting to get a bit harrassed about this tbh, because until now I've just about kept on top of it but I can feel my necessary parental grip slipping in recent weeks. Am not wanting to censor btw, just find him challenging and delightful stuff that is not aimed at teens

Morning. Sorry I can't join you later. I wanted to know if you could recommend any books for my almost five year old son. Although he still enjoys picture books I think he's almost ready to start reading longer 'chapter type' books. I think he still likes pictures and couldn't cope with anything too long, but is there any kidn of in-between books or short chapter books with pics for those who are on the cusp?pter books.

I read to my 8 year old every night and will carry on doing so until she is 18 if she wants me to

I still read to my eight year old daughter and nine year old son. They still enjoy books being read to them at bed time although they are very good readers themselves. Do you think I should be encouraging them to read to themselves at bedtimes or is there not an age limit on when you should stop reading to your kids?

kaphc have you done the dreaded Rainbow Fairy series? my dd2 loves them (also 5)

testing

can i ask what tv tie-in books you think are most worthwhile/fun, as they seem to be all my dd (3yr old) will touch at the moment

thanks

Hello. I would be interested in what books you would recommend for young children with language problems such as difficulties with receptive and expressive language.

Hi

Sorry I can't be around tomorrow, but what I would like to ask is this:

I have a daughter who has just turned 5 a month ago and is a fairly fluent, confident reader (level 6 on the Ginn scheme).

She likes the "Tiara Club" series which are fun reads, but a bit heavy on the "SO totally cool" expressions. We've just discovered Felicity Wishes which is a bit better.

Can you recommend any series or single books for her that aren't too precocious and old for her, and yet will still hold her attention? (Obviously I don't expect you to give too much away from your book, it sounds fab by the way!)

Many thanks

kaphc

Hello
I'm not around on Monday as I'm going to be having a special prenatal massage

I'm still pg with my first baby so this may be a bit premature but I hugely value the importance of books in my life (I'm a reader for the blind as I'm so grateful for being able to read) and the escapism that reading gives me. I love that I love to read.

My mother in law is similar to me but , despite her encouragement, my husband isn't really a book lover (though is quite the voracious reader on holiday).

How can I ensure that this passion is passed on without forcing it?

TIA

Hello! I love reading to my 7 month old - or trying to, at least. Half the issue is keeping her from eating or damaging the book! Fabric is obviously a good way to go, but I rarely make it to the end.. not that she knows that, but still Any tips?

cheers, Sophie & Katelyn

Authors and Children's book experts, Susan Reuben and Leonie Flynn will be joining us on Monday 4th Feb between 12 and 1pm for an online chat about all aspects of reading with your children.

Susan and Leonie are Editors of 'The Ultimate First Book Guide' which provides advice from a team of experts and children's authors and illustrators on everything from when and how to start sharing books with your baby, to what to do if your child doesn't like reading. It also gives recommendations of over 500 top titles for all ages of children. You can put your questions and concerns about the importance of your child's reading habits to the experts Susan Reuben and Leonie Flynn on Monday, or feel free to post your questions in advance here.