Source: .worldlatestnews.com

Harper-Collins India has come out with a new toddlers’ series aimed at developing reading skills for children aged between one and five years. The “Big Cat Read at Home” series, published in June, is divided into four levels.

While level one – called “First Steps” – strings a few simple words and pictures together for children as young as one, level two, “Discover Reading”, teaches two-to-three-year olds to read short sentences with colourful visuals.

Level three, “Explore Reading”, links stories with speech and developed characters. Level Four, “Love Reading”, stretches the stories a little more so that they can be read independently.

“Children are not reading these days and parents are working. They do not have the time or the energy to read books to their children. The USP of the toddlers’ series is that one can go beyond the book. At the end of each book, there are notes for parents on how to use the series for various activities for kids,” Lipika Bhushan, marketing manager of Harper Collins-India, told IANS.

“The books have been prompted by the ‘Mom and I’ and ‘Dad and I’ workshops we have conducted to promote reading habits among children and help parents and their children bond better,” Bhushan said.

The marketing manager of Harper Collins said 2008-2009 has seen a spurt in the sale of children’s books with business growing by 10-12 percent despite the downturn.

The price of the books ranges between Rs.75 and Rs.495.