Move it! Books to inspire activity for children
Books are lovely to sit and relax with and sometimes they can be good to make us get up and dance around the room!
We’ve picked three books from our library to help encourage children to Get Active!
For young library members (0-5 years) we recommend From Head to Toe by Eric Carle.
It’s a fantastic, interactive story that encourages children to join in and play along – waving their arms like a monkey, stomping like an elephant or wiggling like an alligator. With the same colourful collage illustrations as Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, this deceptively simple book teaches important basic skills such as listening and following instructions. It also introduces basic body parts and simple movements. Plus, it’s lots of fun! Use it as an introduction to help blind and partially sighted children feel confident about moving and physical activity. As they grow in confidence they may feel able to participate in more sports and hobbies.
Older children (5-7 years) who are ready to learn new skills will love The Ballet Class by Adele Geras and Sheila McNicholas.
Tilly loves her ballet lessons, so when she learns that she has a week left until the big show, she practises all her steps and her own special dance every day. This book helps children share the excitement of preparing for a performance. There are also Touch to See pictures of ballet positions so they can try doing them at home. The perfect book for girls and boys who love to dance!
Our final choice is for footie-mad children aged 7-11 years. Wonder Goal by Michael Foreman follows a boy who dreams of playing in the World Cup. In the meantime he’s happy just to score the perfect goal for his football team. This book shows that determination, hard work and ambition can sometimes lead to us fulfilling our dreams. Full of the atmosphere of “the beautiful game” it’s a wonderful book to encourage young people to play team sports and dream big.
Borrow From Head to Toe from our FREE library
