I have no idea how old your son is, but I cannot stress just how important reading is, no matter what the age from reading bedtime stories before a child can read for themselves, to buying books for them-carefully chosen and ones they can preferably laugh at or with the contents in the story or of course, introducing them into the children’s library.

I was brought up on Just William, Grimm’s Fairy Stories and the like and I think I read all of them.

I now get through many thousands of pages researching because I speed read, but the draw back of that is, that if I write something that has a mistake or I have left a word out, my eyes automatically ‘correct’ the sentence. My brother was an excellent “proof” reader, something I could never have done.

Strewth! I can even remember one quote from one ‘Just William’. When William bumped into one rather large important looking gentleman, the man said, “Look where you are going young man. Don’t you know who I am? “No” said William, “And I bet you don’t know who I am either?”

Playing a musical instrument is also another way of teaching children another way of reading. Just enjoy the company of your children because they do have a way of growing up all too fast.

Other books which your son may enjoy if he likes those include:

- anything by Donaldson & Scheffler (esp. the Gruffalo, given his love of monsters);

- Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs;

- Dr Seuss.

Charlie & Lola are also wonderful, especially those actually written by Lauren Child. (For slightly older children, the Clarice Bean picture books are even better. There are then longer, text-based Clarice Bean stories for tweenagers.)

Judith Kerr’s Mog books are excellent, too. Mog and the Baby, Mog and the V-E-T and Mog’s Bad Thing being three particular favourites (of mine – never mind what the children think!).

This is something of a golden age for children’s picture books, so you should have plenty to work on…

As they develop their own tastes, they pick up the kinds of books they like (it might be mechanical instructions, but it’s still reading and deciphering information). Once you know what they are into, get down to the library and feed the fad – because they always move onto something else in a couple of months – before the next interest comes along.

My daughter isn’t too keen on reading even now (she’s 10), while my son is developing a rather disturbing taste for sci fi and fantasy (he’s 7).

I let them get on with it.

We always worry, but there is no need. We can’t all love everything. I couldn’t do maths, so my interest naturally gravitated to reading (I had to do something).

I review children’s books, so know a little bit about authors etc. Please feel free to email me some details about your son (age, interests etc) and I will see if I can think of some authors I would recommend.