When working with preschoolers you may find it almost impossible to keep them interested or focused unless you first capture their interest, imagination and cooperation.  Do not assume that very young children will want to sit quietly while you read to them, even if you occasionally show them the pictures in a book. Preschoolers need to feel that they are part of the story telling process. Here are some tips that I have found helpful.

1.  Bring in an object that is found in the story and let the children inspect, feel and talk about the object.  Have they ever seen one before?  Do they know what it is for?  Would they like to hear a story that contains this object?
2. Get your children involved by offering them a felt board story.  Let the children help you place appropriate felt pieces on the board as they appear in the story.
3. Have children make puppets that represent characters in the story to hold up as you read about the character in the story.
4. If the story you want to read, is written a little too involved for preschoolers, don’t hesitate to make up your own version of the story as you turn the pages.
5. Preschoolers love rhyme stories because they can anticipate what the words at the end of the sentences will be.  Children especially love to have you leave off the last word of a 4 line stanza in a rhyme story for them to shout out.
6. Preschoolers also love stories that are repetitive in nature.  Stories like the Three Little Pigs or the Three Billy Goats Gruff, enable children to learn the repeated phrases and repeat them with you as they come up in the story.
7. Preschoolers love hearing the same story over and over.  They like to be able to know what will happen ahead of time.
8. Any time you can get preschoolers involved in the story, you have a better chance of getting them to stay focused on the story.  Try having a couple of children at a time act out what is happening in the story.
9. Complex stories are not good for young children.  Some people say that you should have no more characters in a story than the age of the children.
10. You can also help children remember the different characters in the story by introducing them to the characters before you start reading.  You can have cutouts of the characters placed on a felt board, dolls or puppets to represent them.
11. Short stories are best for young children.  Most children’s stories are written for first and second grade students and may be too complex for the average preschoolers.  This is why short fables, folktales and picture books are the best for this age.
12. If you like a folktale or fable but the plot is too confusing for your children, do not hesitate to simplify it to make it more enjoyable. If it has a surprise ending, be sure to keep that in the story.