Good habits and values are introduced from the childhood. Therefore, developing a habit of reading good books from an early age is very important. If you think likewise then you may consider toy books as a perfect option to educate your child and develop various skills in them. You can find various toy books in the market, some of which are a must buy. These toy books help a child to explore things and increase its intelligence while playing with these books. It also develops child’s communication skills. Moreover, it should be the parents’ will and desire to opt for a toy book rather than the regular toys, which are only meant for playing and are mostly mindless. Reading books to children will serve a dual motive, as it’ll help you to spend quality time with your children and also assist them in learning new words in a creative manner.
History and appearance
The idea of a toy book was originated from England, during the Victorian age, in the second half of the 19th century. Children’s books became very popular from this time. Toy books were generally paper bound books with six illustrated pages and the target readers were children. The cover page of these books appeared colorful, which was contrary to the traditional format and was designed more in an artistic form. Toy books are generally made of plastic, heavy cloth and hardboard. They are crafted with puppets and dolls so that they appear attractive to the kids.
Toy books can be the source of basic foundation for your child as they are the very first introduction to the book. These books can be classified in different forms. Each page of the book may depict one image along with one letter or picture adjacent to one word text or a sentence. This works mostly with toy books which have a story or nursery rhyme. The books are always bright in colors, large, singular, and clear images to tempt children to look at the pictures. Sometimes, the books have photos and pop up pictures or cut-outs of real children and animals which help in recognizing and acquainting them with the ones they hear from elders. It also acts as an interactive feature. Children may touch and feel the sense of an animal like how their bodies are or insert their finger in the hole as a gateway or lifting a flap to discover something inside a house. “Scratch and Sniff Books” are another form of toy books which integrate the sense of smell.
The right age
These books are perfect for preschool and kindergarten children or younger. Toy books are a useful medium to play and involve in activities by infants and toddlers. These books are quite durable, it is difficult to tear or break them. So even if your baby likes to throw things around and chew on them, you can rest assured that they will not come apart. Some of the books are soft because they are made of cloth, which are safe for infants. The ones that are plastic are usually padded with thick cloth or velvet or other soft fabrics and the kids can easily play with them while bathing in the tub.
How are they helpful?
While reading a book to your child you will observe that apart from seeing and touching the book they also discover to turn a page, which may be considered the first literacy step and also try to comprehend the language that they hear. A child is acquainted to a new word or picture by repeated reading and pointing pictures by the parents. This helps to recognize and differentiate a word or relate it with a certain image. Moreover it is a basic step for a child to learn a language. It also helps to recall and remember which is a part of memory trace and inculcates the habit of reading a book.
How to choose the right one?
You will find a lot of toy books in the market, which include drawing or joining the dotted images to form a complete picture. This activity explores the creativity of a child and also their intelligence. Instead of allowing your child to watch cartoon shows in television you can buy your child toy books including an auditory feature which will make them more active by interacting or pressing a tab to say a word or sing a song. The repeat of words or song facilitates the interest in reading a book and a way of playing and replaying educational CDs and DVDs numerous times.
Books are always a better buy over anything. So, in future while buying a gift for your child, consider a toy book over a mere toy, to impart both education and fun for your child. These colorful books not only promote a reading process of sharing while learning, but also provide a pleasurable experience for a child, in turn which will make him or her develop a regular habit of reading books. Toy books are the perfect tool from an early age for personality development of a child.
