How To Encourage Your Child To Love Reading

Think you’ve tried every trick in the book to get your child to love reading? Think again! At Rowanvale Books we understand the importance of reading from a young age. At the same time, we also understand the struggle faced by so many parents who imagined their children being as avid a reader as them, only to find that their child would rather do just about anything else. Luckily, there are lots of tips and resources to encourage your child to love reading as much as you do, and it’s never too late to start!

Make reading fun 

Too much pressure to read would likely make your child even less likely to pick up a book by choice. It should be fun and shouldn’t feel like extra homework. The best thing to do is to choose books which are fun and that your child will actually be interested in. Rowanvale Books have published a great variety of children’s books over the years that are ideal places to start if you’re looking to introduce more reading into your child’s daily life.  

Which child doesn’t love dinosaurs? Two Horn by Luke Courtney is an exciting tale about a young dinosaur trying to fit in with everyone around him. It’s light-hearted and fun but still contains important messages and lessons for your little one to learn from.  

Surround your child with books 

If your house is full of books then there’s no way your kids won’t eventually decide to pick them up and start reading them. Libraries are of course a great option, and getting your child their own library card can help them take charge of their own reading. If you can’t get access to one, consider starting your own online library with Goodreads or a dedicated shelf in your house as a mini library hub for all your favourites. Charity shops are another really affordable way to start building up your library and supporting a good cause of your choice. Now more than ever independent authors and booksellers need our help, and shopping with publishers like Rowanvale Books is another easy way to start.  

Monkey see, monkey do  

Children often imitate the actions they see from their parents, so make sure they see you reading too! This can be anything from magazines and newspapers to your favourite new fantasy novel. It’s crucial that you talk to your children about what you’re reading so that they can see how much joy it brings you. Playing audiobooks in the car or kitchen instead of the usual radio or Spotify playlist will also show how easy it is to make time for reading and demonstrate to your children how keen you are to do so.  

Giving books as gift is another way to show them how special books are. Encourage them to give books as presents on their own friend’s birthdays as well as asking for them for yours. This will also help to build up your home library that we mentioned earlier!  

Full immersion 

Try and get your kids truly excited about what they’re reading by finding ways to fully immerse them in books! We recommend Xalien the Purple Alien Goes to the Beach by Michelle Path if you’re lucky enough to live by the coast, or create a fort in your home while reading Rhian Howell’s Princess Pirate Pants. When your children feel like they’re living through the story, they’ll start to learn how reading can transport them to other worlds, leaving them desperate to find out where they could go next!   



If introducing more reading into your child’s life is on the agenda for 2026, we really hope these tips and tricks will come in handy. Some of the children’s authors we’ve been lucky enough to publish over at Rowanvale Books started off writing because they wanted to create books to share with their own children and grandchildren.

If this sounds like you, drop us an email at [email protected] or head to our website to find out more about how to get started.