How baby books engage children with additional sensory needs

Published on: 12 March 2025

Author-illustrator Sharon King-Chai shares why board books can be so special to read with a young child.

Reading with my two daughters is one of my favourite parts of the day. We read together at bedtime every night, and I love it as much as the girls do. This passionate love of books began with baby board books.

For a baby, the world is an overwhelming place. Imagine you have been in a warm, dark space for nine months. Then, one day, unexpectedly, you are thrust into a noisy, bright, unpredictable, chaotic world. All your senses are suddenly alight.

This is true for all children, and some experience sensory stimulation particularly strongly, which is referred to as having additional or different sensory needs. Just as a baby may be overwhelmed, so may the parent – and for those who want to spend time with a baby but don't know quite what to do, a book is the perfect place to begin.

How sharing books can support brain development

If you bring a book into the picture you and the baby can slow the world right down. There is one focal point and it's a place where they can be in charge of the pace. We can zoom in on what holds their attention, and discover and nurture their very first interests.

Books and reading are so closely aligned to brain development. Reading and sharing books with a baby helps them to start developing a multitude of skills, like listening, understanding and focus; it also helps to stimulate their imagination and encourages gradual development of memory.

They learn about repetition, start looking out for patterns and rhymes, and then even particular objects on the page. Hearing a familiar voice provides comfort and calm. Of course, the more books you share with a child the more you'll be adding to their vocabulary too.

How books can bring calm to babies

On the physical side, the actual closeness and contact when you snuggle up with a baby whilst reading to them is so comforting. Naturally, children are sensitive and absorb moods from those around them, and this simple act of touch is calming to a child.

When you read a story, you breathe differently. Your breath slows right down and this is immediately more calming. You create your own imaginative space to share together.

If a child has additional sensory needs too, this more relaxed pace can provide a safe space for them to engage with you and the book. A slowed down world gives them more time to absorb and understand. The familiar reassurance of a cuddle allows them to relax and the permission to enjoy or focus as appropriate.

Finding appealing books

Choosing the right books is so important. I often take my children to the local library and bookshop (obsessively, one might say – our house resembles a library with its heaving bookshelves!)

I find that the books that I also love and want to read are a big hit. Babies feed off your excitement and joy when something also appeals to you.

Friendly, engaging characters, bright bold colours, and interesting textures would captivate my attention – and I found that my babies would also be attracted to the same things. It's also a chance for them to develop favourites and make their own choices.

I've seen with my girls how books with an added dimension, like printing on shiny mirrored paper or big fold-out flaps, can provide a new learning experience for a child. It can be these features which really grab and retain their attention. These are the books that my daughters wanted to return to again and again.

I add in special features to my books to create an interactive experience that truly captures the curiosity of my young readers. I have watched first hand as mirrors draw a child into the page, into the heart of the story, and fire their imagination.

My older daughter, who has additional sensory needs, is really engaged by things like mirrors, shiny surfaces, and the brightest of colours – I know these are what draw her back to the same favourite books, which then become like a comfort blanket.

The magic of mirrors

With my Mirror Magic series, I wanted to create a space where every page of the book is a printed mirror, so we use the reflective surface in a fun multi-dimensional way.

The mirror puts the child's image in the story; it plays with their imagination and takes them into a new world. And when you hold the book at a 90 degree angle, the landscape is reflected behind the character to create a magical mirror world.

Mirrors, like reading, can be a really fun part of brain development for young children and they are a key part of sensory play. Babies and toddlers are drawn to mirrors: the shine, the contrast of light and dark, and finding their own face reflected back at them. The shiny material helps catch the eye, and the bold shapes and colours will keep them entranced too.

This magical mirror world which puts the baby in the book, is, I hope, going to be the perfect way to create that shared moment of joy and calm in a busy world.

The first instalments in the Mirror Magic series by Sharon King-Chai are out this month.

Find out more about BookTrust's programmes for additional sensory needs