Why Should You Read Aloud to Your Kids?
Want to connect with your kid and improve their literacy skills? Read aloud to them! Reading has many benefits that improve your quality of life. So, in this blog, learn why you should read aloud with your child, how literacy benefits adults, and find some book recommendations.
Why Read Aloud?
Young children benefit in many ways when they’re read to! Some of these are:
- Better listening skills
- Improved literacy skills at their current age
- Improved literacy and numeracy skills later in life
- Better pronunciation and articulation
Books, in general, are great for children (and everyone!). Try reading to your young kids every day! Reading with your kids lets you connect with them, builds their empathy, and helps them learn about the world. This knowledge can then be built on in school. By reading with your kids, you can create a love of reading, which will give them a valuable pastime that isn’t screen time. Reading builds literacy skills, which are extremely important to our lives.
How is Literacy Important to Adults?
Literacy improves how comfortable you are interacting with those around you. Without strong reading and writing skills, you might feel afraid of asking questions.
For example, imagine that your doctor gives you a paper with important information. When you look at it, you don’t fully understand what it says. You feel embarrassed to ask. Eventually, you go home without understanding what the paper means. What if the paper was the instructions for a medication? Or the treatment plan for your infection?
Literacy also improves self-confidence and quality of life. Having strong literacy skills means you’re more likely to be employed, and you’ll likely make more money. So, start building strong literacy skills early by reading to your kids!
Book Recommendations
You can take your kids to the library so they can choose their own books to read, or you can get started with some of our book recommendations!
- Our Little Kitchen, by Jillian Tamaki (Canadian author)
Picture book
https://burnaby.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S2C1353591
“A crew of resourceful neighbors comes together to prepare a meal for their community. Includes a recipe and an author’s note about the volunteering experience that inspired the book.”
- Back Home, by Shaista Fatehali (Burnaby author)
Picture book
https://burnaby.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S2C1276310
When Asha, a young Muslim girl from the Middle East, faces her first day of school in a new country, many things seem different at first, but her new classmates soon help her realize that friendship and kindness are the same wherever you go.
- Gib-ber-ish
Picture book
https://burnaby.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S2C1548723
“When Dat starts school in a country where he does not speak the language, everything around him sound like gibberish until a new friend helps him make sense of his new world.”
- Luli and the Language of Tea, by Andrea Wang
Picture book
https://burnaby.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S2C1558159
“Though they may speak different languages, kids from all over the world come together to enjoy the shared pastime of tea in this delicious book for young readers. When five-year-old Luli joins her new English as a Second Language class, the playroom is quiet. Luli can’t speak English, neither can anyone else. That’s when she has a brilliant idea to host a tea party and bring them all together. Luli removes her teapot, thermos, and teacups from her bag and calls out “Chá!” in her native Chinese. One by one, her classmates pipe up in recognition: in Russian, Hindi, Turkish, Persian, Arabic, and Spanish, Portuguese, and Swahili. Tea is a tasty language they all know well, and it gives them a chance to share and enjoy each other’s company. When all the tea is gone and it’s time for dessert, Luli gets to use her favorite English word, cookie! After that, the playroom isn’t so quiet.”
- Home is in Between, by Mitali Perkins
Picture book
https://burnaby.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S2C1432656
“Immigrating to America, a young girl navigates between her family’s Bengali traditions and her new country’s culture.”
- The New Rooster, by Rilla Alexander
Picture book
https://burnaby.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S2C1638032
“The new rooster has come a long way but he is ready to crow for his new job, only nobody seems to understand his dialect–however they all appreciate his skill cooking breakfast.”
- Sugar in Milk, by Thrity N. Umrigar
Advanced picture book
https://burnaby.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S2C1373165
“A young immigrant girl joins her aunt and uncle in a new country that is unfamiliar to her. She struggles with loneliness, with a fierce longing for the culture and familiarity of home, until one day, her aunt takes her on a walk. As the duo strolls through their city park, the girl’s aunt begins to tell her an old myth, and a story within the story begins…. The folktale depicted in this book was a part of author Thrity Umrigar’s Zoroastrian upbringing as a Parsi child in India, but resonates for children of all backgrounds, especially those coming to a new homeland”