Family Day comes by once a year, a sacred three-day weekend to spend precious time with our loved ones. If you're looking for activities to keep the kids entertained, put the games console away, and forget about expensive outings - spend the time reading books together. Here's why:
1. Love and happiness. Reading a book together, or reading aloud to future readers, is a fantastic bonding experience and a chance to spend quality time away from distractions. Storytelling is a fundamental part of being human, and when we share books and stories, we learn about each other and about the world.
2. Science! It's no fairy tale that reading stories with kids is good for their brain development and language skills, as well as a bonding experience. Even if they are at the stage where they prefer chewing the pages to reading them, their little minds will benefit from it.
3. Anywhere, anytime. Rain or shine (or snow!) it's always a good time to read a book. They don't need batteries, or a wireless signal and they won't require login details. And what’s better, they provide a fun and entertaining escape regardless of where or when you open them.
4. Access all ages. We might put age recommendations on our books, but a good yarn is something everyone will enjoy, and a timeless story is accessible for kids of all ages (we’re looking at you Grandma!). This definitely helps when the three-year-old wants to read It's Only Stanley for the one hundredth time.
5. Magic. Introduce a young person to the humour of Jon Klassen, the fantastical beasts in If I Had a Gryphon, or fly to space with The Darkest Dark and you'll open up a world of imagination to last a lifetime. There really is something magical about the ability for stories to affect us, and the ones that we love in our childhood stay with us for the rest of our lives.
What are the books your family loves to read together? Share your favourites on Twitter and Facebook and let us know!
Want more great picks? Follow us on our social channels below, or pop by Penguin Shop and see our shelves for yourself!
