PHILADELPHIA -- Reading to your pre-schooler should never be a chore for parents or kids.  There are small things parents can do to get the most out of time spent cuddling together reading "Where the Wild Things Are" or "Olivia Saves the Circus," said Lawrence Sipe, who teaches courses on and researches children's literacy and how youngsters interact with picture books at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

"I've never heard of any child who rejects books in general," Sipe said.  "Parents just need to capitalize on what their kids like and try to expand their experiences." In other words, if your children just want to read stories with trucks, let them read stories about trucks, and, if they prefer the JCPenney catalog over the latest award-wining children's book, that's okay, too.

"There are times when kids will want to read the same book over and over again, and it can get pretty boring for parents.  But the last thing you want to do is make them read something and turn it into a chore," Sipe said.

And while even the best books get boring after the first several hundred readings, there's a good reason for children's repetitive reading habits.

"When you're 3 years old, you don't have much control over your world.  Part of the pleasure for them is to know what happens next in a story and to be able to control that," Sipe said.

Sipe has some additional advice for parents when it comes to reading and children.

Buy a variety of books.  "You wouldn't necessarily read a fairy tale if you're working on teaching your child the alphabet," he said.  Types of books include longer stories like fables that teach kids the structure of stories, repetitive stories like "Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you See?" that give children the ability to read along at a very early age and concept books that teach basics like shapes, numbers and the alphabet.

Buy quality books.  While Sipe advocates letting children read what they like, he also thinks parents should always try to find the best books available.  "We live in a golden era of reproduction and many of these children's books are beautifully rendered.  Picture books are also your child's introduction to art, and it would be a shame for parents to not use books with high quality illustrations when there are so many out there."  

Emphasize environmental print. In addition to the importance of reading to your children, many experts stress the importance of children seeing their parents reading.  "Not everybody reads novels, but we all have to read certain things throughout the day.  It's important that parents make kids aware of this and actually point out the things they read during the day and the usefulness of reading," Sipe said.  "So in the morning you might say, 'Mommy's going to read the cereal box and make sure it doesn't have too much sugar in it,' or point out the recipe you're following while you cook or driving directions."

Make sure you're comfortable with the book.  Just because everyone else thinks a book is great doesn't mean it's great for you and your child.  "Parents need to check and make sure books fit into their parenting philosophy and cultural beliefs.  For instance, many parents are concerned about violence.  In most European versions of Little Red Riding Hood, she dies in the end.  In most American versions, she's saved by the woodsman or another character.  The European version may be more violent, but it also has a lot to do with the way the two cultures approach the subject of death."

Ham it up.  "You can never be too dramatic when reading to children.  Be as over the top as possible.  Kids love it," Sipe said.

Maintain a consistent schedule.  Consistency, routine and patterns give children a sense of comfort.  This also applies to reading.  Parents should have consistent story times and try to stick to a reading routine as much as possible; however, this doesn exclude parents from reading at unscheduled times.

Use story time to teach children about the parts of a book.   "For instance, you can point out the title of the book on the cover and then how it appears again on the title page and the spine of the book," Sipe said.  Parents can also use the time to familiarize youngsters with terms like author and illustrator.