Children should be exposed to a “diverse diet” of books in childhood, a new research paper has found.

Dr Helen Adam from Edith Cowan University says children can still enjoy the classics, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and We’re Going On A Bear Hunt.

But she says there’s an over-reliance on the classics, with teachers and parents, tending to go for the books they love.

“It’s a good thing, I think, to get people talking about what books we are sharing with children.”

Dr Adam says it’s not so much that individual books lack diversity.

“My concern is that we need to have a diverse book collection so that every child has the chance to see books that reflect people like the, families like theirs, worlds like theirs.”

“It’s not about those individual books, its about are we just relying on those books, are they the diet of books kids are getting served up today?”

Press PLAY below to hear more about her views 

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