You Don’t Have to Finish the Book: A Gentler Approach to Storytime

The story can stop halfway. It still counts.

There is a very particular kind of optimism involved in opening a picture book with a toddler. You imagine a warm little moment: someone tucked under your arm, a story unfolding, perhaps even a cup of tea within reach.

Then the pages get turned six at a time. Someone points to a dog. The dog reminds them of a real dog. The book is suddenly upside down. Storytime has become a conversation about dogs and biscuits, which is perhaps not what the author intended.

But it is still reading together.

Follow the small reader

A book isn't a test with a correct finishing time. With babies and toddlers, a shared story might mean looking at one illustration, talking about a colour or making up a silly noise. Sometimes it means hearing the same sentence four times because it happens to be the good bit.

Raising Children Network encourages parents to let toddlers help choose books, look slowly at pictures and lead the way when their attention wanders. That feels like a useful reminder for all of us who have ever tried to wrestle a wriggling reader towards page twelve.

Try noticing what catches their eye. Is it the cat hiding near the cushion? The funny expression on someone's face? A familiar object that looks like something in your own house? Following that interest often opens up more conversation than insisting on the next page.

Talk about the pictures

You don't need a set of educational questions. A simple observation works beautifully:

·        “That cup looks very full.”

·        “Where do you think the puppy is going?”

·        “We have socks like those.”

Pause and make room for an answer. The answer might be a word, a point, a delighted squeal or nothing at all. You can simply keep talking together.

Make the moment small enough to fit

The ideal reading ritual does not have to involve a perfectly tidy nursery and a specific bedtime. A few pages on the sofa while dinner cooks count. So does reading on a picnic rug, in a waiting room or before a nap.

If today is a three-minute-book sort of day, let it be three minutes. If one book somehow becomes seven, enjoy your unexpected good fortune.

Repeat without apologising

Small children often return to the same stories. Familiar words, rhythms and pictures invite them to anticipate what comes next. As the adult reader, you might know every line so well you could recite it while unloading the dishwasher. That familiarity can be part of the pleasure for your little listener.

The books I love creating are made for children and the people reading alongside them. The aim isn't a flawless performance. It's that lovely moment when something on the page feels familiar, funny or worth talking about.

So, if you get to the final page tonight, wonderful. If you spend five minutes discussing a drawing of a cat and never get any further, that is a storytime too.

A little more to explore: Browse the Little Petal Press picture books and find a story that feels like your kind of day.