Enabling Environments: Making Spaces... Book corner

I work with two-year-olds. Our book corner is already an underused space in our setting and I'm concerned that this will only become worse now that Communication, Language and Literacy have been split into Prime and Specific areas under the revised EYFS. How can I convince my room leader of its importance and place in high-quality provision?

The Prime areas form the basis for learning in the Specific areas. Providing babies with a wealth of positive exposure to books and stories is an essential part of the prime experience they must have if they are to be ready to learn the more specific aspects of literacy as they grow older. You are right to be concerned about any area of your setting that is underused and to consider carefully what is the best approach for providing young children with a rich and satisfying experience of books and written material right from the beginning.

All two-year-olds are interested in books, though that interest often includes chewing them as well as 'reading' them upside down and back to front. But they also love looking at them, pointing to the pictures and having them read to them over and over again. Two-year-olds are quite capable of making choices about the books that they like and as well as enjoying them by themselves, they will give them to adults and insist they are read to them.

SPACE

So, what is the best way to organise books for two-year-olds? The concept of a book corner probably originated in nursery and infant classes and, in reality, it usually serves more than one purpose. It is a place where books are stored and displayed, and sometimes organised into categories. We generally see them put in racks or baskets, on shelves or in purpose-built book boxes.

The 'corner' might actually be in the corner, or at least defined in some way by low-level partitions that separate it from the rest of the room. It might have a rug or carpet and probably cushions and seating that is perhaps different to the rest of the room.

Just as our children are unique, then by and large, our settings are unique too, and as practitioners we do our best to create 'enabling environments' out of whatever we've got to work with.

FEEL-GOOD FACTORS

For two-year-olds there are probably two main criteria for planning a book 'corner' and that's books and somewhere snuggly to share them. Perhaps, this doesn't have to be in a corner, but it certainly has to be somewhere that is well-defined and ensures that toddlers associate books with good feelings.

Ideally, lots of activities in a two-year-olds' room should be taking place on the floor anyway, so there should always be rugs and cushions for children and adults to sprawl on and look at books. Parents also need to be part of this 'feelgood' experience so let them know they can stay and share books with their child at the beginning or end of sessions.

IN STORE

• Book storage is an important aspect, no matter how the book corner is arranged. Very small children need the reassurance of being able to find their favourite book easily when they want to read or share it with someone.

• Get to know the books most loved by your children and have more than one copy.

• Reassess your books regularly, for condition and suitability. A well-loved book isn't going to be pristine, but it's never OK to leave out books that are torn or with pages missing. There are lots of creative things you can do with the pages of a damaged book so don't just throw it away - use the illustrations for making posters or story props, for example.

• Have the best stock of books you can afford, but it isn't necessary to always have them out all at once. Old favourites should always be there, but too many can be overwhelming for small children.

• For children this age, baskets containing a few books that can be easily moved around are probably the most useful. A particular book can be found readily and it's fun and simple to rout through a basket looking at what's there. And don't be surprised when a book ends up in the home corner or with the bricks.

• Having a spare basket or two around the setting makes it easy to find a safe place to put books without having to instantly remove them from their new home.

• Don't forget there are other reading materials that toddlers are interested in too - catalogues, magazines and comics are great for sharing, and generally have a good range of diverse images of people.

BY EXAMPLE

Toddlers love to talk about other children and to make connections with their own experience. Talking about what they see in books and illustrations is an important part of language development.

The best way to ensure that children engage with books and a 'book space' is to get the adults using it. Children will always gravitate towards any area where there are grown-ups doing something. There is nothing wrong with a practitioner settling down on the sofa or curling up in a corner with a book to themselves. You can guarantee they will not be on their own for long.

Community Playthings book corner resources

Snuggle up in your book corner on a Community Playthings Bench Glider (£670) and take your pick of the company's wide range of bookshelves and display units. Also available are book corner furniture packages for under-threes (£708, F933) and three to fives (£1,186, F934). For more information on planning and practice in your book corner, see 'What makes a good children's book' and 'Reading aloud with children', all available at: www.communityplaythings.co.uk

This feature is sponsored by Community Playthings

www.communityplaythings.co.uk