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Mighty Kids Therapy
2 min read

Develop Language Skills Using Books

Mother and child lying on stomach side by side reading a book together and smiling

Books are an excellent way to work on communication with your little one. From pre-verbal to adolescence and beyond, books can enhance speech, language, and overall communication.


Here are a few ways to use books to help with your child's language development:


  • Read often! The more the better. Children get exposed to so much language through books. It is also a great way for you to connect and interact with your child as they develop.

  • Instead of simply reading the story, interact with each page to associate auditory and visual skills for language development. Have your child find objects or actions in the pictures. For younger children, reducing the amount of questions can help reduce the demand. Instead of "where is the bear?" try saying "find the bear." For children 2 years and older, more questions with simple language can be helpful. For example, "What's that?", "What is bear doing?", or "What does bear have?

  • Make animal noises and environmental noises with the pictures. Get silly!

  • Ask the child to turn the pages as you read.

  • Check for understanding by having the child retell you the story in their own words.

  • Use repetitive books to have the child fill in the blank. For example, "Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? I see a yellow...." and pause for the child to say "duck." Make sure to give the child ample time to process before responding. Wait a few seconds, and then model it again.


A childrens book cover in each corner (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Brown Bear Brown Bear, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Bear and Friends) with the writing "SLP Favorite Books to Promote Language Development" in the center


And now, a few favorite books from our Speech Therapy team:










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