Children’s Favourite Books

Abstract

This article reports on a study of four pre-school children’s reading choices, their ‘favourite books’ and the impact of parents’ own reading choices upon their children’s choices. It set out to examine the reading choices available to pre-school children at home and the factors involved in the parental selection of books, in addition to the impact of parents’ own experiences of favourite books upon their children’s choices. Four parents took part in a series of interviews in their home and maintained a diary reflecting their children’s reading choices over a seven-day period. Vignettes were then developed which reflected on the children’s reading choices. Data were analysed for patterns and themes. The main findings were that parents selected books for children based on their children’s interests, that parents’ own reading histories impacted upon their choices and that parents used an array of indicators to identify their children’s favourite books. It is suggested that further research is needed in relation to pre-school children’s reading choices, given that most surveys of reading focus on older children.