Kids’
Interests
Kids have a natural attraction to animals, so animal stories are a
good start. But there are so many choices. We’ve found that a good way to test a
child’s interest level is to let him or her see some illustrations from the book.
Sometimes reading the first page is a helpful test of interest.
Likeability
For kids, appeal tends to be based on memo ability and likeability.
How well do they remember the main character? Do they like the
character? Sometimes the child likes the setting of the story. Examples: Australia, rain
forest, ocean, farm, mountain.
Parents who have discovered
the wonder of
`s
Childrens Books understand the value of reading
aloud to their kids.
Eye appeal
Children’s books need to be designed with eye appeal if you
want kids to read. There should be lots of color, friendly layouts, nice accents, good
line spacing and readable fonts.
Age appropriate
Picture books tend to be read by ages of 4 to 8 or 10 years. David
Lemmon, 22, who illustrated the ZOOOO characters, chose a toy-like, cartoon-like style
rather than a highly realistic treatment that older children might prefer. Kids see these
toy-like characters as fun and can relate to them very easily.
Book-toy sets
Some of the most popular children’s books come with a toy. The
toy can be a strong motivator for kids to experience the book because the central
character takes on a personality as the story unfolds.
Stories and
Babies were
taken to child development centers so children could participate with the books and
beanies. Children like to hold and hug the toys during the story.
Action level
Children like to read stories which are vivid, descriptive and keep
the momentum going. Jamie Lovejoy has a wonderful way of involving the child, because of her
own intimate connection with animals and her gentle, mothering style. Rather than teach
kids about animals, Jamie lets children learn from animals.
Length
Stories range from 850 to 1500 words, averaging 1200 words.
This makes about a 10 to 12 minute read, a very good length for a rest break or before
bedtime. New words are introduced by putting them in a context so the child can figure out
the meaning. Young or reluctant readers will enjoy having a parent, older brother or
sister, or grandparent read to them. We realize this, so we tested
Stories with adult readers to make sure parents
like to read them to children. Caution! You may
have to read it over and over! Eager readers
will be carried into the story very quickly.
