Written by Analia
It is such a satisfying and heart-warming scene every time the children pick up a book because I see their faces light up with joy and there is also a sense of awe with the knowledge that they can take a book home. I support the children in lending and borrowing of books and many children come to the library or the lending corner of the classroom to browse and borrow books.
I have observed that however young the child is, whether they can read or not, they all like to touch the books, feel the books and then they take a particular book. Sometimes it may be a favourite color that determines which book should be picked, or the fact that the book has movable parts, is tactile, has little or more text, is about a favourite theme / character/ topic are all possible reasons one book is chosen over the other.
The younger grade children pick up books which have lots of pictures and not much words. There are some more confident students whom I have found determine choices for the larger group. If a confident leader like student picks a book of a particular type many of the other students also want that book.
While I continue to observe the children’s borrowing and lending and talk to them about their book choices, I still do not know what makes a child choose one over the other. What I know is having a variety of books, of different types and topics and giving children the chance to choose their own book brings them closer to books and warms my heart.
