Speech, language and communication

Libraries

At Coventry Libraries we will welcome you and your child.

Libraries are a great way to share books with your child. Libraries are free to join and your child is never too young to join. You can get a library card for your baby as soon as they are born.

To get a library card for your child you simply need to visit your local library and complete a membership form. No identification is needed for your child to join and once they have their library card you can borrow books for free on their behalf.

Coventry Libraries has a great selection of books for under fives. These include board books, touchy/feely books, pop-up books and picture books.

Local libraries also have rhymetimes and storytimes, and information about these and other activities and events is available by contacting your local library.

Getting started

Sharing books and stories is a great way to encourage talking and listening. Its never too early to start. Even very young babies will enjoy listening to your voice as you read a very simple story or sing a rhyme. Reading to them can be very calming for small children, especially when the sound of your voice is coupled with favourite stories or characters. Books can also be a great way of passing the time enjoyably on a journey or when waiting for an appointment. Keeping a bag of books nearby at all times can be a life saver!

Here are some tips to help get you started

• Choose a quiet time
• Find a comfy place
• Talk about the pictures
• Give your child time to respond
• Encourage your child to join in
• Keep it short, little and often is best
• Be prepared to share favourite books again and again
• Cuddle up with a book and enjoy some quality time together

Ideas for having fun with books and stories

• Book Trust
• Coventry libraries
• Creating a Cosy Book Time 
• Finding time each day to look at a book is good for your child’s development, It helps them concentrate and learn words, It’s also a good opportunity for quiet, cosy time together.
• Share Stories with your baby.

There are lots of places you can buy books and they do not need to be very expensive. Bookshops, supermarkets, toy shops, charity shops and libraries are just some options for you to explore. You can also borrow books from your local library.

Here are some ideas to help you choose the best books for your child. These are simple things to look out for to get the most from your books.

Choosing books for babies

Board books are a great starting point for babies. Look out for sturdy, solid pages that look as if they will stand some rough treatment. Babies love to chew on books and throw them about!

Some storybooks aimed at older children are now appearing in board book format. Babies are not ready to learn how to read yet and are unable to understand stories. Board books using either no words or only one or two words are much more suitable at this stage.

Babies love brightly coloured, simple pictures. Your baby may not be ready to talk or count yet but baby books are a great way to gently introduce children to early concepts such as colours, numbers up to 5 and opposites. Simple pictures without too many details are ideal. With a book on colours for example, look for books with one colour to a page rather than lots of colours simply labelled up on one page.

Your baby will want to learn about the world around them and one way you can encourage this is by choosing books with simple familiar subjects. Board books on farm animals, the weather, getting dressed or household objects for example, are ideal ways of introducing your baby to simple ideas.

Books featuring simple rhymes and songs are a nice way to guide you to singing and talking to your baby. Books showing action rhymes are also great for developing co-ordination and encouraging movement and exercise.

Lots of babies like looking at pictures of other babies! There are now a number of books with photographs of babies and toddlers. Sometimes they have mirrors attached for example. These are great fun for you and your child to play with.

Touchy, feely, noisy books are all great for babies to explore. Pop-up books and flap books are also fun to catch your baby's attention and keep them interested.

Safety is important and some books will say that they are not suitable for children under 3 years/36 months old. Please take care to check that the book is safe for your child.

The most important thing is that you can enjoy sharing books with your child, and they enjoy it too.

Books for toddlers and pre-school children

All of the suggestions for choosing baby books are also still relevant for toddlers. Toddlers love repetition and can gain confidence and reassurance from still looking at books they had as babies.

Toddlers will enjoy simple stories. Choose stories that you think you will like yourself. Your enjoyment will rub off on your child. Take your child with you and allow them to choose a book themselves. Sometimes a book that doesn't grab you immediately can become a firm favourite with your child.

Stories about familiar subjects may appeal to your child. If you own a pet cat for example, a book about cats may appeal to you and your child.

Books on unfamiliar topics are also equally useful in showing your child things they may not normally experience day to day. Lions are not a familiar sight on your local high street, but you can meet them in books!

Allowing your child to explore imaginary worlds is a way of encouraging them to develop their own imaginations. With an older child who understands basic concepts, you can also chat about these stories and explore what is real and imaginary. 

Books available from Coventry Libraries and Information Services

The following titles are available in the city libraries. You can find more on the Bookstart website. Information and book reviews are kindly supplied from booklists with each Bookstart pack.

Great books for babies

• Row, Row, Row your boat (#6 Rhyme Time on 50 Things to do app) – Annie Kubler, Child’s Play, ISBN 9781786287557
• Pocket Pop-up Peekaboo Farm (#32 Where have I gone? On 50 Things to do app) – Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 9780241673799

Great books for toddlers and pre- schoolers

• Luna loves library day (#10 Sharing Books on 50 Things to do app) – Joseph Coelho, Andersen Press, ISBN 9781783445950.
• If you’re happy and you know it (#7 Making Music on 50 Things to do app) – Anna McQuinn, Barefoot Books, ISBN 9781646864430
• A busy day for birds (#24 Hop, Skip, Jump on 50 Things to do app) – Lucy Cousins, Walker Books, ISBN 9781406376548