A Love of Stories Begins Before the First Word: A New Direction for Rob’s Books

Something new is taking shape at Rob’s Books: a completely free, advertising-free family reading membership, designed to help children and the adults who care for them enjoy stories together from birth onwards.

We want to create a welcoming place where families can discover original stories, rhymes, imaginative activities and practical encouragement. Somewhere they can return to as children grow, interests change and familiar favourites are requested for the seventeenth time before breakfast.

There will be no membership charge and no advertising within the membership. Our aim is to make sharing stories easier to begin and enjoyable to continue.

The project is still being developed. We are taking time to consider what families would find useful, how to organise the material and where informed guidance could help us make better decisions.

At its heart, however, the idea is straightforward.

A child does not need to be able to read before stories can become part of their life. And an adult does not need a teaching qualification, a theatrical voice or an uninterrupted afternoon to help that happen.

Beginning at the Beginning

Children’s reading activities often begin with children who are already approaching school age or learning to read.

We want to begin earlier.

From birth, there is room for shared words, pictures, rhymes and little moments of attention. For a baby, that might mean an adult describing a picture, repeating a gentle phrase or responding to an expression. For a toddler, it might involve pointing, joining in with a familiar line or deciding that every animal in the story ought to be a duck.

These early experiences need not resemble lessons. They can belong to ordinary family life.

A few words while getting dressed. A rhyme during a quiet moment. A little story shared before sleep. A picture that starts a conversation about something seen on a walk.

Our youngest members will, of course, take part through an adult. The material will be there to help that adult find something enjoyable to share.

We want stories to feel like a welcome part of being together.

A Family Reading Membership That Grows With Children

One collection cannot meet every child’s interests and needs throughout childhood.

The material that delights a baby will be different from the adventure that captures a confident young reader. A child beginning to recognise words may want to join in with a short repeated phrase. Another may be ready for a mystery that unfolds over several instalments.

We are therefore exploring a membership organised into clearly described stages, beginning with infancy and continuing through toddlerhood, preschool, early reading and increasingly independent reading.

The names and exact groupings are still being considered. We want them to feel encouraging and inviting.

Families should also have room to move between collections. A child may enjoy reading something independently and still love having a longer story shared with them. An older child may appreciate a short, predictable story after a demanding day.

Age suggestions can help adults find a starting point, but children bring different interests, experiences and ways of participating.

Our intention is to help families find a good fit, with space to explore.

What We Are Planning to Offer

Original stories will be central to the membership.

For the youngest children, we are considering short, picture-led material, gentle rhymes, familiar situations and phrases that invite repetition.

As children grow, the collection would broaden into playful adventures, animal stories, discoveries about the world, gentle mysteries and imaginative journeys. We also want to explore serialised stories that give families something to look forward to together.

There is a particular pleasure in wondering what happens next. A missing parcel, an unexpected visitor or a suspicious noise in the village bakery can provide plenty to discuss between instalments.

Alongside the stories, we plan to include activities connected to what children have enjoyed reading or sharing.

These could involve drawing a character, spotting something outdoors, making up a different ending, acting out a scene or solving a simple puzzle. Some might take a few minutes; others could develop into a longer afternoon’s occupation if enthusiasm allows.

We want the activities to be manageable with ordinary materials and adaptable to family circumstances.

A story should offer possibilities. It should not leave an adult facing a shopping list and wondering where to acquire six metres of purple felt.

Helping the Adults Who Make It Possible

Parents, carers, grandparents and other trusted adults will be an essential part of this project.

We recognise that adults arrive with different amounts of time, energy and confidence. Some love reading aloud. Others feel uncertain about their own reading or worry that they are supposed to ask particular questions and produce a measurable result.

We want the accompanying guidance to be reassuring and practical.

A short note might suggest looking at a picture together, wondering what a character could do next or following a detail that has caught the child’s attention.

It might also offer a simpler option for a busy day.

There should be room to pause, skip an activity, repeat a favourite passage or stop when a child has had enough. Enjoying one small part of a story is a worthwhile experience.

We would like adults to leave feeling that they can do this in a way that suits them and their child.

The membership will also recognise that families communicate in different ways. As we develop the material, we want to consider how pictures, actions, gestures, signs and different home languages can be welcomed within shared storytelling.

Making Inclusion Part of the Plan

We are considering from the outset how the membership could serve children with learning difficulties, disabilities, communication differences and other additional needs.

This deserves careful thought.

A single collection described as suitable for every child would not explain very much about how it actually works. Families need clear information so they can decide whether something is likely to suit their child.

We are exploring options such as uncluttered layouts, shorter passages, predictable structures, repetition and flexible ways to join in.

We are also considering whether additional collections or pathways would be useful. Any descriptions should be positive, respectful and practical, helping families find material without making children feel judged.

We will seek informed guidance as this develops. The membership is intended to provide enjoyable stories and activities; specialist teaching and therapeutic support require their own expertise.

Our hope is to build flexibility into the experience and give families meaningful choices.

Digital Material for Shared Experiences

Rob’s Books publishes digital books, and this new membership will follow that approach.

Families would be able to access downloadable stories and activities through an adult, with printable options where appropriate.

Digital delivery can make it convenient to keep a collection together and return to a favourite. However, we also recognise that access to devices, data and printers varies.

We therefore want to keep files straightforward to use and avoid making printing essential to the core experience.

Many activities could begin with an adult reading a short passage or showing a picture, then continue away from the device.

A woodland story might lead to looking for leaves on a walk. A tale about a missing hat could inspire a household search game. A character’s peculiar dinner might start an animated discussion about what everyone would serve a visiting dragon.

The digital resource would provide the starting point. Families would decide where the experience goes.

Why It Will Be Free and Advertising-Free

We want families to be able to use this membership without a subscription payment.

There will also be no advertising within it.

That matters to the kind of space we are trying to create: somewhere adults can concentrate on choosing and sharing material with their children.

Rob’s Books will continue to have its wider digital publishing catalogue. The family reading membership is being developed as a free part of our work, with its own purpose and a manageable scope.

We want to be thoughtful about what we promise. A useful collection that grows steadily is a better commitment for us than an ambitious timetable we cannot sustain.

The detail of how often new material will appear is still being worked out. We will explain that clearly before launch.

Learning From People With Relevant Experience

Good intentions are a beginning. We also need to listen.

As part of developing this project, we have been exploring the National Literacy Trust’s early years and family literacy work, including Early Words Matter and Words for Life.

We are preparing an enquiry to ask whether they can offer initial guidance, recommend useful published resources or suggest an appropriate person to speak to.

We would welcome advice on supporting adults, describing the different stages, considering accessibility and understanding where a small independent publisher could make a useful contribution.

Any relationship would need to be discussed and agreed. At present, this is a Rob’s Books project in development, and our enquiry is an opportunity to learn.

We would also like to hear from families and people who work with children. Their experience can help us understand which ideas are practical, what may create unnecessary work and what would make the membership worth returning to.

What Happens Next?

Our next steps are to refine the membership stages, develop a small selection of sample material and consider how families would find and use it.

We want to test the whole experience.

Can an adult quickly identify a suitable story? Are the instructions clear? Does an activity offer enough choice? Is the file comfortable to read? Does the guidance encourage participation without adding pressure?

Those details will shape whether the membership is useful in everyday life.

We will share further updates through Rob’s Books as the plans become firmer, including information about the collections, access and the first material available.

Help Us Shape What Comes Next

If you are a parent, teacher, carer, grandparent, early years practitioner or someone who supports children’s reading, your thoughts would be welcome.

What would help you share stories more often?

Would you find short stories, rhymes, serialised adventures or simple accompanying activities most useful? What would make guidance for adults feel encouraging? Are there access needs or practical difficulties you would particularly like us to consider?

You do not need to provide personal information about a child. General suggestions about what helps your family or the people you support would be valuable.

Visit Rob’s Books for updates and use the website’s written contact options to share your thoughts.

We are looking forward to creating a collection where a baby’s first shared pictures, a toddler’s much-loved rhyme and a young reader’s next adventure can all find a place.

It begins with something small: an adult, a child and a story worth sharing.

Please give us your thoughts and ideas?