Books as toys – their crucial role in child development
Published on: 06 January 2025
Play expert and futurist Yesim Kunter explains how to use books in play as part of children’s development.
Play is a crucial component in the holistic development of children – physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially. Play is the catalyst that fully engages children in their activities, and the diversity of activities gives rise to various types of play. Books have an essential role in play and thus can have a significant impact on children’s development.
There are several key Play Categories, for instance: Sensory Play; Social Play, Active Play, Object Play, Symbolic Play, Games. There are appropriate books for each category – and most books for babies and toddlers have fun elements that fit across more than one category.
Sensory Play
Sensorial stimuli are essential for fostering exploration, curiosity, problem-solving, comparison, and creativity. They play a vital role in building nerve connections for the development of brain functions.
Look for: Tactile books with various textures, patterns, colour combinations and effects that create sound are great for exploring senses.
Suggested books:
Moo!: Play-City Rattler: Soothing, simple sounds and animal sounds are a great way to introduce the sensory world around them.
The Button Book: A book that invites children to Sensory Game Play and through this also learn cause and effect.
Social Play
Understanding social cues, listening, expressing, communicating, and developing empathy are facilitated through various social play types, such as pretend play, role play, imaginary play, and fantasy play.
Reading books together fosters emotional bonds with the caregiver, providing a range of expressions and interactions that contribute to the development of social intelligence and cognitive abilities. Additionally, encouraging “acting out” promotes language development and expression.
Look for: 6-24 months: Books with facial expressions, gestures, simple and clear imagery, mirrors, sliders, surprise effects (lights, mirrors, peek-a-boo, hide and seek, touchy-feely flaps), toy add-ons such as puppets.
24+ months: Complex picture storytelling with roles and expressions, enhancing imagination and fantasy.
Suggested books for 6-24 months:
Babies Laugh at Peekaboo: Playing peek-a-boo is a great way to laugh and giggle for babies. Through this, the bond between the caregiver and child gets stronger.
Where’s Mr Lion?: Lifting the soft flaps to find out who’s underneath is fun to do together, and the mirror at the end is a lovely surprise.
Suggested books for 24+ months:
We’re Going to Find the Monster!: Children play at hunting a monster but the pictures show they’re in a house and garden.
A Wild Walk to School: A simple walk turns into an adventure!
Active Play
Key development areas include whole-body coordination and hand–eye coordination, fostering an understanding of one's position in relation to the surrounding environment, self-regulation, resourcefulness, and independence (autonomy).
Look for: Books that encourage movement, such as pull and push or turn features or narratives that express movement or prompt children to find and spot things to develop hand–eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Suggested books:
1,2,3 Do The Dinosaur: (2+) Books that can make children mimic the movements are great encouragement to relate to the stories through action.
Are You a Monster?: (4+) Books that prompt actions also create space for active play. By role-playing characters, children learn to actively mimic actions.
Symbolic Play
This is all about understanding systems such as languages, patterns, music, and visual media. This type of play supports children to be able to learn technical tools to express and reflect their experiences, emotions and ideas. It is crucial in language development, abstract thinking and, as a result, literacy skills.
Look for: Bold, vivid graphics featuring alphabets, numbers, animals, and objects, coupled with engaging rhymes and fun imagery, to captivate and sustain children's interest. Tactile elements encourage kids to touch and learn patterns. Books with matching activities are also useful.
Suggested books:
I Say OOH, You Say AHH: Simple narrative play that can encourage children aged 5+ to be creative with their linguistic abilities.
The Artist: Perfect for encouraging children to paint, understand patterns, and have fun with symbols.
Object Play
This is one of the most important play types for children to learn about reasoning, problem solving, creative thinking and cognition. This type of play also encourages ‘private speech’ when children make comments while engrossed in their activities.
Look for: Functions such as flipping, pull-push, rotate, pop-up books, mirrors or content that encourages exploring things around us; text that mentions characteristics of objects.
Suggested books:
Mirror Baby: Hello You!: (6 months+) Mirrors are great functions within books for encouraging curiosity and exploration.
Old MacDonald Had a Farm: (2+) This has counters to move along the track, which requires concentration, problem solving and fine motor skills.
Games / Play by rules:
Games are great for developing empathy, negotiation, following instructions, taking turns, and understanding other perspectives. Children enjoy creating their own rules, especially during the early years. Peek-a-boo, hide and seek, chasing, throwing and catching games are the simplest early forms of rule-based play. As children get older, games become more sophisticated and challenge-based.
Look for: Content provoking children’s curiosity and channeling their focus like spotting things in the pictures. Functions that create hide and seek games or encourage children to follow instructions through visuals.
Suggested books:
Where are the Yellow Chicks, Spot?: Sensorial Game Play for children aged 6-24 months. Great to make simple games and engage children to pay attention to simple clues.
Pick a Story: A Pirate + Alien + Jungle Aadventure: Adventure book for ages 4+. It is like a puzzle, following different storylines.
Books should be an essential part of any childcare setting and home, offering multiple ways for babies and children to develop through play.
