Types of Children’s Books

Children’s reading preferences often change over time.

Something that many parents ask themselves is what books they can read to their children. The answer has to do with the age of the reader, or rather the reading level they are at, and what their tastes, interests, and even their current needs in different areas are. To be able to approach this point, we first have to know what are the different types of children’s books that exist.

It is worth noting that although we can indeed learn a lot through literature, children’s books don’t need to be oriented to learning something specific. Just as we go to the movies with the idea of having a good time, being distracted, or facing a complex drama, reading can provide us with something similar, only in a different format, and with different benefits. Nor should we think only of instructive fables, but also of imagining, living adventures without having to leave home, expanding our mental limits by acquiring knowledge of realities other than our own, among other things. Moreover, in children’s literature, it is possible to deal with all kinds of topics, including complex ones such as death and war.

Story / illustrated story

The short story is what we traditionally know. It is characterized by being brief and generating some kind of impact at the end.

An illustrated story has text and illustrations (drawings). The illustrations accompany the text and are explanatory. They are present to expand and illustrate the idea conveyed by the text. Examples:

Sulwe- by Lupita Nyong’o
Journey- by Aaron Becker

Sensory book

These books are for the youngest children, those who are not reading yet. They are useful for the little ones to begin to have direct contact with the book so that they can explore safely. Many of these children’s books do not break easily and are safe for children, in the sense that they will not be able to swallow the paper or hurt themselves in any way. Example:

Picture book

This type of book is relatively new and is being talked about a lot, due to its great potential to reach children, encourage reading and deal with all kinds of topics, even complex ones. Examples:

Novel book

The novel is characterized by having a more complex structure than the short story. Also, it is a little longer, although long stories can have a similar length to short novels. The main difference between them is the degree of complexity: the short story is simple, takes place in a single environment, and has the main story, nothing more. The novel, on the other hand, can take place in different timelines, and several places. In addition, it can have secondary stories. Examples:

Poetry book

For some reason, children’s books poetry has been relegated over the years. It seems that many families feel that it has no practical value. However, it has an enormous capacity to connect the reader to the aesthetic and musical side of language. It also stimulates creativity and imagination in a natural way. Examples:

Informative book

This is one of the newest genres that exist; informative children’s books are like encyclopedias or manuals on a specific subject, accompanied by graphics and eye-catching illustrations. This is done to engage the reader with subjects that are generally complex to introduce, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and many others. Examples:

Children’s reading preferences often change over time.