LittleBookMatch

Buying a book for someone else’s child

The hardest version of this problem, because age is genuinely all you have.

Age is a bad guide, and it is the one you have

Everywhere else on this site we argue that age tells you very little, and that holds here too — two children of the same age can be a year apart in what they do with a book. The difference is that when it is not your child, you usually cannot know anything better.

So the sensible move is not to guess more precisely. It is to pick something that works across a wider range than you think you need.

What travels well

Rhyme travels furthest. A book with a strong rhythm works for a child too young to follow the story and is still funny to one who can, which buys you a year either side.

Books with something to do — flaps, textures, holes — are safe a little younger than they look, because a child who cannot follow the words can still work the flap. And a picture book with very few words on a page is read for longer than a busy one.

What to avoid

Anything tied to a film or a television series that may be over by the time it is opened. Anything with a name printed in it. And, unless you have been asked for it, anything educational — a book chosen to teach something is usually the one that does not get read twice.

If you know one book the child already loves, say so when you ask someone for a suggestion, or put it into the box on our homepage. One real title is worth more than any amount of guessing at a birthday.

Books that are hard to get wrong

Strong rhythm, few words on a page, and a wide range of children they suit.

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Lifting flaps and pressing things

Sitting through a picture book

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