Shh! I’m sharing my secrets to engaging children when you read aloud and giving tips on how to become better at reading aloud!
If you read aloud books with your child, then you probably know that it has so many benefits.
Reading books helps with language development, building vocabulary, lowering anxiety, teaching fluency, and expanding imagination.
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Kids can learn so much through reading!
Reading with your kids helps you both connect and bond in special ways.
But your read-alouds may not be as engaging as they could be.
I get it! Reading aloud can be kind of intimidating if you’ve never really done it before.
My Story
When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, I read somewhere that you should read aloud to baby in the womb so they can get to know your voice.
I felt so silly reading picture books aloud in the nursery by myself.
I thought, oh, it’ll be easier once I can see the person I’m reading these stories to.
It didn’t get easier right away… but I did get better at it!
I still felt funny reading aloud to a baby. I just don’t like hearing my own voice!
However, I kept on reading to her because I knew it would help her language development so much better than if I didn’t.
What helped me build my confidence and become better at reading aloud was constant practice!
Kids will often want to read their favorites again and again. This is the perfect opportunity to practice new voices and new reading techniques, like the ones I’m about to share.
To those of you who are nervous about reading aloud, get over it!
Your child will love the special bonding time with you and won’t care that you stumble over a word or skip a word (or entire sentences!).
If you’re ready to become a better reader, here are my secrets to reading aloud with your child.
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!
1. Start Now and Start Small
The only way to get better at something is to practice! Just do it!
If you’re pregnant, start now because this is the perfect opportunity to practice your read-aloud skills.
If your kids are a little older, start small with short books.
Let them turn the pages to help keep them interested.
Choose short books with good pictures and few words. This will help your child pay attention and help you build your confidence in reading aloud.
Some kids, though, just won’t sit still! Try these tips:
- Read at bedtime while your child is in bed.
- Read aloud books that you or your child can act out.
- Read lift-a-flap books, pop-up books, touch-and-feel books, or any other book with interesting features to engage with.
- Have your child jump or stomp whenever they hear a certain word, such as a character’s name.
As you get better at reading aloud and your child’s attention span starts to increase, you can start reading longer books.
I started with single-word board books and cloth books with my first baby, then moved to board books with short sentences as she got older.
Board books are perfect for babies because they’re easy for you to turn the pages while holding a squirmy infant and easy for babies to turn the pages too!
Now that my oldest daughter is two, we read books with multiple sentences per page (and of course, tons of pictures).
2. Read with Expression
I hate to sound like a fourth grade teacher, but you gotta pay attention to punctuation and intonation.
When you see a comma, pause for a beat and then keep reading.
When you see a period, pause for two beats and then continue.
Let your voice match the text.
If Billy’s puppy broke his leg, read in a sad voice with a slow pace. If Billy’s puppy made a miraculous recovery, talk in a loud, excited voice!
This is what makes read-alouds interesting.
It also helps your listener better understand what you are reading.
Change voices or use accents for different characters. It’s fun to be silly. Your kids will think your crazy voices are hilarious.
Exaggerate sound effects and onomatopoeias. Kids will eat that up and beg you to do it again.
3. Let Them Pick the Book
We display our books on a picture ledge so that the covers are shown.
Display your picture books in a similar manner or keep them in a box or basket near wherever you like to read with your child.
If you’re starting small, make sure the accessible books are nice short ones that you both will enjoy.
Sometimes your kid will want to read the same book again. And again. Possibly multiple times in the same day.
That definitely happened to us.
Our daughter wanted to read Goodnight Moon (by Margaret Wise Brown) several times in the same day. Once we finished, she would sign “more” until we read it again.
I knew every single line of Goodnight Moon!
Reading the same book multiple times can help kids really understand it and develop language skills.
Because we read Goodnight Moon so often, our daughter’s first word was “boon-boon” (a.k.a. balloon).
I also think that is why she loves the color red. She just really liked that red balloon in the story.
4. Point to Stuff in the Pictures
When we read, I’ll point to the part of the picture that shows what I’m reading aloud at the time.
So when I read “Goodnight cow that jumped over the moon,” I point to the cow jumping over the moon at the same time.
This really helped our daughter’s vocabulary just skyrocket when she was about a year old.
Once she realized that the words describe the pictures, she pointed to EVERYTHING on the page and would look at me and wait for me to say its name.
It was amazing how much she soaked up and how much she was able to communicate.
5. Connect to Real-Life
The thing I love most about reading is that I can explore places and ideas that are new and exciting. I can also remember experiences I’ve had through reading!
Books can help kids understand things in real-life.
Planning a trip to the doctor? Read a book about it and do some imaginative play!
Not only will it help comfort your child by showing him what to expect, it’ll be a great way to answer questions that may come up during the visit.
This concept also works in reverse. A book can come to life by connecting past experiences to what you’re currently reading.
For instance, while reading Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle, you might say, “Remember hearing the sounds of thunder and rain during the storm yesterday?”
6. Ask Questions
You might be thinking, hey, my baby can’t talk. Why bother asking questions?
That is a good question.
Pausing to ask questions, even if you have to answer them yourself because you’ve got a non-talker, helps you get in the habit of asking questions while reading, and helps your baby recognize a question-answer routine.
Here are four basic questions you can ask while reading almost any picture book:
- What is happening in this picture?
- What do you think will happen next?
- What was your favorite part of the story?
- How does [the character] feel? Why?
Try using a variation of these questions (adapt to fit your book!) the next time you read aloud.
Activities You Can Do to Go Along with Any Book
If you’ve read a book a million times and need to change things up, try some of these activities!
- Name an object in each picture for your toddler to point to.
- Have your child retell the story as you turn the pages.
- Make up a sequel together.
- Count things in the book, such as the characters, shapes, letters, etc.
- Act out the book.
- Have your toddler clap, stomp, or jump whenever you say a certain word.
- Pick an item featured in the book and have it ready for your child to explore. (For example, play with a red balloon after reading Goodnight Moon.)
Our Current Favorite Books!
- Ten Tiny Toes by Caroline Jayne Church: A sweet little board book that names body parts and has actions you can do along with it.
- The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin: Lovely illustrations and a heart-warming poem about the potential each child has. This would be a beautiful baby shower gift and is a good alternative to Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss.
- Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle: We loved this creative poem about a thunderstorm in New York City.
- Corduroy by Don Freeman: As a kid, I loved this story about a little bear who goes looking for a missing button and finds a friend.
- The Find It Book by Margaret Wise Brown: The illustrations are what sold me! It’s a nursery rhyme mash-up meets I Spy book that our daughter can’t get enough of!
- Munch! by Matthew Van Fleet: Pull the sturdy cardboard tabs to make the animals munch, munch, MUNCH!
- Daddy Hugs by Karen Katz: I seriously entertained my one-year-old for an hour with this book. We did all ten different hugs, counted to ten, counted hearts, and looked for the cat in every spread!
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr., and Eric Carle: Perfect for learning about colors with the large illustrations and the rhythmic cadence is just plain fun to read aloud.
Free Books!
Of course, we love heading to our local library to check out books a few times a month.
We’ve also started using FreeTime Unlimited. There are tons of books on there and your first month is free!
I have it on my phone to pull out whenever we’re on the go or I’m trapped under a nursing baby!
Now you know my secrets to get started reading aloud with kids and keeping them engaged while you read.
Here’s your challenge: Read to your kids tonight using a British accent and comment what your kids thought of it below!
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!
