It's never too early to start reading (to your little one)!

It's never too early to start reading (to your little one)!
It's common knowledge that reading benefits the language development of children, but not everyone knows that even reading to babies helps them learn to understand language.
Even our littlest ones learn from being read to. They listen to the sounds and the rhythm of the words, which makes it easier for them to understand language later. On top of that, it's a great way to practice their auditive and concentration skills.

Instructive for any age
While the tones and the liveliness of the narration are key at first, the story itself becomes more and more important later. For instance, children 8 months and up can point out pictures themselves, and a little later, they can even pronounce the words that go with the pictures. After their first year, children will start to really understand the stories, at which point their imagination will start to develop. Your little ones learn something different from reading at every stage of their life.

A book for your little one's first years
In cooperation with Mercis Publishing, Little Dutch published a few really lovely books. These books are suitable for the littlest ones, but they are also thoroughly enjoyable and educational for toddlers and preschoolers.
‘My first animal book’ will allow you to tell wonderful stories about the animals in the ocean or jungle, for instance, drawing on the lovely illustrations. Your little one can learn the names of the various animals by pointing them out. You can practice the animal sounds together. And older children can let their imagination run wild by making up their own stories with the animals from the book.

Endless reading fun
Thanks to the thick, cardboard pages of the Little Dutch books, your little ones can easily help you flip the pages. By actively involving them in the reading process, you can hold their attention, which will keep reading fun for them. Repetition is no problem for your little one. In fact, reading from the same book again and again is good for your child's development. However, reading has to be fun for you, too. That’s why you can focus on different aspects of a book. What happens in the ocean? Do you recognise all the animal sounds? What colours do the animals have? How do the animals move, etc.?

Want to play?
Your child will love books that match their interests, experiences and knowledge. With the ‘Want to play?’ book, you are sure to stimulate your little one's imagination. The book is about playing, and, thanks to its special shape, the book itself is a great toy to play with.
Many of the activities in the book will be familiar to your child. As such, it's a lot of fun to chat and make up your own stories or re-enact stories after reading the book.


A fixed moment together
By picking a fixed moment every day to read a book together, you can create a lovely moment of peace for you and your little one. That's why most people read just before bedtime. Most children become calm and mindful when you read a book to them.
Spending a cosy moment together, becoming nice and calm and dreaming of all the adventures from your book.

Are you a fan of our books? We've got some great news for you, because we'll add a new, fantastic book to the collection soon. Stay tuned!

Enjoy the little things!