Put simply, Bookish Play is using a book as a springboard to inspire a play opportunity. We know that reading to and with our children has huge influence on their language development and neural connections. Setting up play invitations that extend upon books read, amplifies this impact.

Here are a few ways Bookish Play supports learning;

👉🏻 It builds vocabulary and allows children the opportunity to play and explore new words in a practical context. While vocalising play and acting out scenarios, they are exploring sentence structure and formulating their thoughts and actions into words.

👉🏻 They are also working on memory recall and comprehension to retell events and storylines sequentially.

👉🏻 Books are fabulous tools to navigate tricky situations and introduce unfamiliar topics such as having big feelings, starting school or moving house. A play invitation that extends upon books such as these provides the avenue for conversation and exploration of the topics through the lens of someone else.

👉🏻There’s a quote that says something along the lines of everyone being a reader, they just haven’t found the right book yet. For those children who are reluctant readers or lack interest in books, a play invitation could assist engagement and curiosity.

👉🏻 On the flip side, bookish play provides us as parents insight into our children’s
current level of cognition, skills and interest which in turn helps influence the
subsequent play invitations we set up for them.

Knowing the above, here are a handful of examples of what a bookish play invitation could involve.

🐢 Small world play with figurines.

🎨 Art and Craft; creating paintings, drawings or collages inspired by the illustrations or contents of the book.

🌊 Sensory Play tray to explore and interact with.

🧚‍♂️ Puppets of characters; finger puppets, sock puppets or even making your own using a peg and a picture.

🩺 Dramatic Play area; for example a book about going to the doctors could lead to a doctors surgery play set up.
📚 Engaging in an experience from the book; for example cooking biscuits or going on a bus.

Play is learning; it’s a necessity and how children make sense about the world. A book inspired play invitation allows just that, the freedom to play and discover while consolidating foundational skills. When next selecting books to enjoy with your child, be encouraged to set up a bookish play invitation to extend the fun and watch the magic happen!