So your child wants you to read that book again. You've read it 100 times, easily, and want to read something else for the sake of your sanity...but "Again! Again!" is all you hear when it's story time. That's actually a very good thing. Children's growing brains require a lot of repetition for learning and reinforcement of that learning. Reading the same book 100, 200, 300 times to a child who is just learning the language helps in following ways:

  • Reading comprehension - children understand more of the book content each time you read it
  • Vocabulary - they understand more and more words from each reading, so you want to make sure the book has really rich vocabulary you don't normally use in everyday conversation
  • Fluency - sets a good example to children of what fluent reading sounds like (smooth, with expression), so they know that's how reading is supposed to be, even silently

Knowing that doesn't make you any less bored with reading the book again, so here are some ways to make reading the same book even more fun, both for you and your child.

Read the story in a different voice. It makes a child pay more close attention when you change your voice. Have you tried a French accent? Have you tried singing the book like an opera star? Have you tried rapping it? Or using your best Queen of England voice? Something as simple as giving characters their own voice can shake things up a bit. What silly voices can you come up with for each character?

Read the story with expression. This helps your child understand that reading can be very exciting, encourages imagination development, and it's engaging, too!

Talk about the pictures. You can use different language than the book uses to maximize vocabulary growth, or maybe even tell a totally new story! You can talk about the details on this tree or that face for even more vocabulary exposure.

Ask questions about what's going on to encourage discussion. This is called "dialogic reading" and it's something educators do all the time to encourage language development and growth. Ask open-ended questions, not yes/no for more impact. Also, give your child a chance to process the question. Sometimes it takes a little bit for them to work it out, but then they come up with the absolute best answers!

Leave a space for the child to fill in the blank with the right word. "Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? I see a ____ looking back at me!"

Change (or add) some words in the book to increase vocabulary. Start with colors - azure for blue, for example - and then add feeling words and descriptors such as rough, smooth, etc.

Vary the pace of the story. Read it fast like you're in a race, make it slow like a turtle.

Have your child read the story to you! Let them show off how much they've learned! It's OK if you know they are just reciting from memory; this helps them develop storytelling skills of their own.

All of these tips can make reading the same book for the 101st time and beyond a bit more engaging and interesting for both you and your child.

Happy re-reading!
 

- Melody Palmer, Youth Librarian, South Broken Arrow Library