Family Resources

Reading Tips – Dolly’s Imagination Library

For families with young children currently enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, here are some simple reading tips to help you derive the greatest benefit out of the monthly books being mailed directly to your child at home!

Reading Tips for Babies
Reading Tips for Toddlers
Reading Tips for Preschoolers

BOOK-SPECIFIC READING ACTIVITIES
Two of Tennessee’s Imagination Library county sponsoring organizations have gone the extra mile for this program, and are now offering additional activities to accompany the book your child receives in the mail each month.  These activity sheets will help you to extend the benefits of reading the wonderful books in Dolly’s Imagination Library, beyond the printed page.  Found at the Web links below, they are educational, fun and free!

Imagination Library Book-Specific Reading Tips (Books from Birth of Middle Tennessee)
Imagination Library Book-Specific Reading Tips (United Way of Greater Chattanooga)

Reading Tips for Sharing Books with Babies

Here are some ways to get the most out of reading books with your baby:   

• Help your baby to explore the book. Let your baby turn the pages, grab or even chew on it.  
• Point out interesting pictures. Say, “Look at the butterfly.” Cover it and ask,    “Where is the butterfly?”  Uncover it and say, “Peek-a-boo butterfly!”
• Take time to ask questions and pause as you read.  Ask, “What color is the cat?” Pause. Then respond, “White. The cat is white. The white cat says ‘Meow!’”
• Stay on a page for as long as your baby is interested.  Turn the page or stop reading when your baby looks away or seems tired or bored.

Here are some ways you can extend your baby’s learning “on the go”: 

• Bring books everywhere.  Keep them on hand, in your diaper bag or in the stroller.
• Choose simple phrases from the books you’ve read and use them as you go through the day together.  While on a walk, say, “Dogs bark.  Birds sing.  All for you!”

(Credit:  The Dollywood Foundation / United Way bornlearning)

Reading Tips for Sharing Books with Toddlers

Here are some ways to get the most out of reading Only You and other Imagination Library books, with your toddler:

• When you read together, cuddle up with your child on your lap. Remember to look at each other as well as the book.
• Let your child lead. If your child wants to skip pages or read the same story again and again, it’s okay.
• Ask your child to point out things in the pictures. For instance, ask, “Where is the balloon?” and have your child find it on the page.
• Ask your child to name things in the pictures and talk about them. Point to the train and ask, “What is this?” Then ask, “What sound does a train make?”
• Use the pictures to teach new words. Say, “See the trumpet? A trumpet is a loud instrument that makes music.” Then pretend to play the trumpet.
• Ask questions about the story. “What are the bears doing in this picture?” Pause and then help your child answer. Leave room for your child to make things up.
• Act out parts of the story. If it says “you laugh and pick it up,” then laugh out loud.
• Use the story to start a conversation. Say, “It looks like the bears are baking. Remember when we baked cookies? What did we use to make them?”

Here are some ways you can extend your toddler’s learning “on the go”:

1. Bring books to read while you wait on line at the market or at the doctor’s office.

2. Talk about books you’ve read when you are at the park or on a walk. “Look! That lady is wearing a hat like the bear in the story we read.”

3. Use a word or phrase from the story throughout the day.  As you buckle your child into the car seat say, “Only you can make me giggle when you smile.”

(Credit:  The Dollywood Foundation / United Way bornlearning)

Reading Tips for Sharing Books with Preschoolers

• Snuggle with your child, with his favorite blanket or toys as you read.
• Read with expression, using different voices for different characters.
• Emphasize rhythms and rhymes in stories. Give your preschooler opportunities to repeat rhyming phrases.
• Encourage your child to repeat what you say or comment on it.  Encourage him to ask questions.  Provide models of interesting questions and examples of possible answers: "I wonder what is going to happen next?  I think the rabbit will get lost because he is not paying attention to where he is going.  What do you think?"
• Look for books that are about things that interest your preschooler.  For example, does your child like cars, insects or animals?
• Place books in a child-accessible area (toddler-height bookcase, perhaps) and give him a chance to choose his own books for story-time.  If your preschooler chooses a book that is too long to hold his attention, read some and skip some, discussing the pictures and how they relate to the story.
• Read stories again and again.  Toddlers enjoy repetition; it helps them become more familiar with the way stories are organized.
• If your child is curious and makes comments about letters, take the opportunity to familiarize your child with the alphabet.  Playing with alphabet blocks and singing "The Alphabet Song" are happy ways for your child to become acquainted with letters.
• Make books a joyous and important part of your child's life.  Read to him every day. Let him talk about the stories.  Ask questions about the pictures.  Ask him to point out pictured objects that are alike and different in shape and in color.  This activity helps children to observe small differences in the shapes of letters and words when learning to read.
• Children model their parents’ behaviors and routines.  Set a good example as a reader—read every day at home, even if it’s just a magazine or the local newspaper.
• Make reading fun, a time that you both look forward to spending together.

(Credit:  National Education Association)