How long can a little one sit to listen to a story? I have this discussion pretty frequently when I’m talking with parents about skills they’re working on with their child. Usually it’s a parent that really wants to enjoy reading books with their child, yet the child just won’t sit still for a book.

For children, their attention span is about twice their age. A three year old should be able to sit about 6 minutes to talk about and hear a book read. If you keep that in mind when selecting books, it will make story time more rewarding.

Another tip is to select a story that you’ll really enjoy reading. Why? Because you’re more likely to use different voices, or at least vary your speech as you read. That makes for more interest and variety, and it could increase the length of books read.

Does the child like music? If so, pick books that are song lyrics with pictures. Those were always favorites with my daughter, as she got mommy singing and a book at the same time. Those types of books are also good for building knowledge of how books work and later word recognition.

Books with favorite characters or favorite types of characters will be more interesting. My daughter was in love with ducks for about 2 years. I searched the library shelves for any books that had ducks on the cover. Then I’d check the story inside to see if it was a good length for her.

If you have other tips for selecting books for preschool children, please share. I know others will appreciate the input.