Books That Spark Conversations: Speech and Language Therapist Recommendations for World Book Day

Mar 6

5 min read

At LINGO, we believe that books are far more than stories to be read aloud - they're powerful tools for developing children's speech, language, and communication skills. On World Book Day, we want to celebrate the transformative role that books can play in helping children grow, learn, and communicate. Reading books with children isn’t just about sitting down with a story; it’s an opportunity for interaction, conversation, and building connections.

Books encourage children to explore new vocabulary, learn to rhyme, understand narrative structures, and spark their creativity. By actively engaging with the stories, children practice answering questions, making predictions, and using language in a fun, engaging way. This interaction, whether through discussing the pictures, making up their own parts of the story, or repeating rhymes, allows children to develop essential communication skills that can help them flourish in their everyday lives.

To celebrate World Book Day, we asked our team of Speech and Language Therapists to share their favourite children's books that they recommend for supporting speech and language development. Here's what they had to say:

Wendy – Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

Wendy loves the classic Room on the Broom, “it’s like a treasure trove of opportunities for supporting language.” The book has lovely illustrations with lots going on, so she often uses it to have conversations with children about what they notice in the pictures rather than reading the story. Reading the story with children is also a great way to share the book, there’s so much brilliant language in there to explore. Language around the animals in the story, the weather, lost and found, feelings…the list goes on. And if that weren’t enough, it’s a rhyming story. Rhyme is a crucial phonological awareness skill important for supporting underlying skills for speech and reading, particularly decoding and phonics.

Anabeth – You Choose by Nick Sharratt & Pippa Goodhart

Anabeth loves You Choose for its fantastic illustrations and its flexibility. The book is brilliant for sparking conversations, as every page offers a new setting or collection of objects that children can explore. "It's a great tool for asking 'Blank Level' questions, which help determine a child's language comprehension level," she says. With so much detail on each page, it’s a great way to ask children what they see, ask about their favourite thing on the page, or even prompt them to infer or imagine scenarios. Anabeth notes that this is a wonderful way to build rapport and make the book relatable to the child, all while encouraging dialogue.

Leah – Little Acorns (A Twinkl Original)

Leah’s top recommendation is Little Acorns, a beautifully illustrated book about the seasons. "The visuals are great," Leah notes, making it an accessible and engaging read for young learners. Another advantage is that Twinkl books often have additional resources, like sequencing activities and PowerPoints, which can help extend the learning beyond the book. Leah highlights how useful these complementary materials are when working with children, as they allow for more structured learning sessions.

Sarah – Story Path by Madalena Matoso

Sarah loves Story Path because it’s all about helping children create their own narratives. "This book offers sentence starters, but the child gets to decide where the story goes," she explains. It provides a clear narrative framework - beginning, middle, and end - also allowing creativity and flexibility. Sarah recalls using this book with a Year 2 pupil to work on narrative skills, sentence structure, adjectives, and connectives. The interactive nature of the book kept the child engaged, as he enthusiastically made up his own story. Sarah emphasises that this book helps model a range of adjectives and descriptive language, while the question prompts allow for even deeper exploration of ideas. The structure of the book supports developing a narrative, while also giving the child ownership over the story, making it both educational and fun.

Helen P – Oi Frog! by Kes Gray & Jim Field

For Helen, Oi Frog! is a fantastic book for building phonological awareness, thanks to its playful rhyming structure. "It's a fun, silly story that is perfect for helping children with rhyming skills," Helen says. The engaging rhymes make it easy for children to anticipate what comes next, and Helen often leaves gaps in the reading for them to guess the rhyming word or even come up with their own. The illustrations are lively and humorous, which helps to keep children engaged while also supporting their ability to use visual clues. This makes Oi Frog! a great interactive tool for developing both phonological skills and language comprehension.

Anya – The Cat Who Lost His Purr by Michele Coxon

Anya's recommendation, The Cat Who Lost His Purr, is a story that children with communication difficulties can relate to. "It’s about a cat that loses its purr, which can resonate with children who struggle to find their own 'voice'," she says. The story is filled with repeated sounds, such as "drip drip drip" and "buzz buzz buzz," which can encourage children to join in with the sound effects and build their phonological awareness. Anya also uses this book to informally assess a child's attention, as the repetitive nature of the sounds helps to keep them engaged.

Charley – You Choose by Nick Sharratt & Pippa Goodhart

Charley echoes Anabeth’s praise for You Choose, emphasising how useful it is for creating conversations with children who may be nervous or unsure at the start of a session. "It’s great for breaking the ice," she says, explaining that it allows children to engage without the pressure of a formal assessment. Instead of just asking questions, Charley uses it to model language, sharing her own favourite things on the page to encourage the child to do the same. This makes it a valuable tool for assessing social interaction and helping children feel comfortable enough to express themselves conversationally. Charley loves You Choose because "Books don’t have to be just for reading - they’re valuable in creating conversations too."

Helen W – Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Helen W recommends Goodnight Gorilla because of its unique structure - there are no words! "This makes it accessible for everyone," she explains. With no text to follow, children are free to tell their own version of the story based on the illustrations. The lack of words allows for rich conversations, making it suitable for children of various ages. Helen finds that the detailed pictures provide plenty to talk about, and the wordless format encourages children to be creative and engaged in constructing their own narratives.