Today marks the start of #NationalStoryTellingWeek and in honour of this, I’m sharing my book recommendation for February and asking the question, do you still read with your children?

I’m not talking the dreaded book scheme reading, that from my own personal experience has often ended in tears and tantrums. I mean sharing a story you actually both enjoy.

Both my nine and eleven year olds still enjoy me reading with them and we’ve got in to a great routine, whereby I will read for ten minutes with each of them and if they want to carry on reading on their own, they can.

This works because it’s often nearly 8pm by the time they get to bed and 15-20 minutes of reading a night is all we can manage. It also works because it means I’m able to read with both of them.

Who doesn’t enjoy catching up on a few quiet cuddles with their child?

I get to read so many interesting stories this way and whatever I miss when they read on their own, I am updated on the next day. So I guess it covers comprehension too, because they have to have understood what they’ve read in order to fill me in on the details!

Sometimes, after running around all day, you kind of just want to get your children to bed and have a sit down in front of the television with a glass of wine. But it’s easy to forget that just because your children can read confidently on their own, this doesn’t mean they wouldn’t enjoy sharing a story with Mum or Dad, as well as having that bit of one-on-one time with you, even if it is only for ten minutes.

This is also a great way of encouraging your children to read because you are doing it together. You can talk about the story and what the characters are getting up to, so you’re really engaging with them too.

My son and I are reading Cogheart at the moment and I’ve found he’s reading a lot more of it by himself than he is with me!

His detailed re-telling of what he’s read on his own has shown how involved he’s become with this story and how well he understands it at just nine years old. It’s a fairly complicated plot line too, with lots going on,  but it’s gripping, tense and exciting, which is all serving to keep him wanting to read more. He’s already talking about when we are going to get the next book.

My son writes,

“I like reading Cogheart because it is a fun and exciting adventure. Every time I have to stop I want to read on. Lily, Robert and the mech fox, Mallon, are trying to figure out what happened to Lily’s dad, the secrets he held and who those mysterious silver eyed men are.”

What will you be sharing for #NationalStorytellingWeek?