Before I delve into the importance of reading and tell you about the 10 best books for five-years-old, take a look at this story of the mom of a young author!
I am a mother of a 17-year-old boy, Joy is his name. When anyone asks him about his earliest childhood memories, the first thing that pops up in his head is- the bedtime stories.
Stories about astronauts, dragons, spiderman and many more! I and my partner have always emphasized our child’s reading habits. We have always tried our best to keep him connected to books.
And, today I can proudly say, that he is an author at 17.
Learning does not begin the day you get your child admitted to a school. Rather, it begins much earlier. Keeping that in consideration, I have jotted down this article that focuses on developing reading habits in kids, especially in 3-5 years of age.
The article includes the 10 best books for five-year-olds. It also aims at answering some of the related queries.
The story is best suited when your child is feeling upset or frustrated. It talks about a little boy’s crayon box full of crayons. The crayons get pissed off seeing the way they were treated and hence, they quit working.
The book teaches how to express when you feel upset and to cooperate.
This is one of the best books for five-year-olds that teach the concept of self-love and. It comes up with the story of Gerald who is bullied by other animals around.
Gerald finds it difficult to dance for which other animals keep teasing him. In the end, he figures out and comes up with his dancing style.
This book is fine with your kid if they are beginning to read something independently. The plot includes funny gestures.
It is about a boy who wants to make ice cream but adds more ingredients than what is necessary, and it ends up becoming a soup.
The book is made up of 12 simple and lovely stories. The book is divided into 5 sets. Set one is made especially for beginners.
Your kid can move further as they build up their confidence.
It is a classic book for five-year-olds. Your toddler can read it on their own. This will build up their confidence. This is one of the best books for five-years-old.
The book comes up with some challenging words like, “pancake”, along with some other commonly used words. The idea behind putting in some challenging words is to help your kid identify them.
This book for five-year-olds is the most heard about. The storyline is about a hungry mouse who is greedy and keep coming back when you offer him something new.
Your kid will find this book easy to read for each page contains few sentences only. The storyline is about a bull who is the polar opposite of the other bulls.
He prefers to sit quietly and enjoy his surroundings. The bull is sweet. Through this book, your kid will learn to enjoy whatever surrounds him.
This is again one of the best books for five-year-olds. It illustrates rhyming words to keep your child hooked.
The plot is about a mouse who finds a bear sitting on his chair. He’s worried now because he has no place to sit. Once the mouse goes, the bear gets up. He now finds mouse in his house.
This book has a unique storyline. The story is about a boy who has a dragon as a pet. As the story moves, he explains why dragons make up the best pets.
This is good for beginners as it includes minimal text per page. It will teach your toddler to take off someone or anyone, even if it be a dragon!
The book is based on the idea that sharing with others is an important ethic. The plot revolves around a beautiful fish who dislikes sharing its scales with others.
But later it finds out that sharing can be fun sometimes. My personal favourite and another one of the best books for five-years-old!
The earlier years of your child determine the interests of your child. This is a time when they get moulded into any activity easily.
Especially, the years between 3 to 5 years are crucial to instil any activity into your child. Hence, this is a time when you should start giving them exposure to reading, gradually but consistently.
The best way to start developing a reading habit in your kid is to read out to them. Gradually, your child will move from recognising and reading texts and pictures shown in the book.
Introduce books to your kid by talking about letters, number or signs on hoarding to them.
Reading is a habit that will help your kid throughout. Your kid will have a broader and better perspective towards things. They will grow as free-thinkers.
1. Fun with letters-
Give them the freedom to create their own words using letters. At this stage, they might hold the pencil strangely or write words that make no sense. It’s all okay. They will move at their pace.
2. Make them write-
If your child is chatty, they probably have a lot of stuff to talk about. Make them write all of it. Start with something simple. Make them write about how their day was, what they did at the playground, etc. Write a few sentences on each page, and then read it out to them.
Photo by Catherine Hammond on Unsplash
3. Be different-
Follow the approach of “dialogic reading”. Include them in the stories that are readout. Ask them what they would do if they were a particular character.
1. Develop an atmosphere of reading-
It is a fact widely accepted- reading is the key to learning. If your child loves to read, he will crave learning.
This is an important step that you can take on your part- start with filling your bookshelves. Hunt for books for five-year-olds. This is a great start! Let them choose any book from the bookshelf. Give them a quiet space and allow them to explore their reading.
2. Let them free-
Let the steering of your child’s car be in their hands. Do not let them feel controlled or pressurised. This will drive them away from learning. Provide them with options to choose from. For instance, ask them which story they’d like to listen to today.
Create a space for two-way communication. Let them speak out about the troubles they are facing if any. Listen to their opinion. Do not make them feel that their opinion is pointless.
You can make the process of learning way more interesting by introducing them to things that please them. For example, if your child is interested in space, read out stories about astronauts reaching the moon. You can get them started at an age as early as one year. Here’s the list of the best books for a one-year-old.
The articles suggested some books for five-year-olds that you can always refer to get your child interested in reading.
Your children will always look up to you for anything and everything. I would suggest you cultivate habits in yourself which you want to pass on to them.
