The question of when to begin reading long stories with no or few pictures to children is a surprisingly nuanced one. In general, for truly great stories, many children can listen long before their parents might think it possible. Of course, each child is different, and not every family finds it desirable to dive into chapter books read aloud. Before banishing a toddler to an endless repetition of mindless board books, consider the possibilities.
Some children are mesmerized by tales. They slip easily into an altered state: total relaxation, eyes glassy, minds open to realms of experience unseen but spectacularly narrated. This is not the same plane of existence on which i-Pads dwell. No, that alternate universe is a scary place that seizes children’s minds and renders them lonely hostages, grunting and tapping at the programs that have been used to pacify them.
The altered state of listening to a story is usually fundamentally different. The human voice signals connection, one soul reaching out to another. The story—if it is worth reading—tells of characters encountering difficulty and obstacles time and again, emerging wiser for the lived experience, which the child receives in some inchoate form without having to do the painful living and mistakes. Unlike the alienating handheld device journey, the path of a story can lead children into deeper connection with other people.
Falling under the spell of a narrator can seem a bit like falling asleep. Some children struggle mightily to surrender, taking seriously the exhortation, “Do not go gentle into that good night.” Just so, some children find it hard to settle for a story, pulled into noisy motion and loud talking. Such children are still not beyond the reach of a good story. As we help children develop strategies for falling asleep more easily each night, so we can expand the ways in which our children can learn to relax for a good story.
For those under four years old especially, occupying hands with playdough, blocks, and other activities can sometimes be a means of settling the mind in order to enjoy a story. Such children may not appear to be listening, but while their hands are busy they may be absorbing great swaths of new vocabulary and thrilling tales. The act of attention for the very young can look different than it might for older children.
If parents recognize that this is not the sole occasion on which their children will experience The Little House on the Prairie series, The Chronicles of Narnia, or The Lord of the Rings, there is a lot less pressure to remember everything and pass a reading comprehension exam. Understanding that in a living family library, good stories are worth reading again. Without the unnecessary pressure of trying to ensure that the story is internalized with every factoid memorized, parents have the freedom to experiment with how much a young child can understand and enjoy of a longer fairy tale or classic children’s novel.
There will be children for whom a tub of playdough means only a salty snack and cause for great havoc on the family home. Perhaps they are not ready for longer stories. But we should not assume that such children are beyond stories. God became man and spent the brief years of his public ministry traveling around telling stories. There are great mysteries conveyed in stories, and we should not unnecessarily exclude children from life-giving experiences of the word. Perhaps some children would continue to enjoy well-crafted picture books beyond the age that would seem helpful. In fact, most children continue to enjoy picture books after what people arbitrary decide appropriate. Perhaps others would benefit from simply listening to a story told orally while engaged in high-energy outdoor activity.
The question of when to read long-form narrative content to the very young does not have a straightforward answer. The short answer is sooner than you might think, depending on the individual child. We should not be afraid to find great stories to share with our children from a young age, confident that we can revisit them and deepen our love for the story in years to come, further exploring the complexity and nuance that makes words so absorbingly beautiful.
