text: Reading to children can be a magical experience. When the story is a good one, it doesn't take much to keep the children engaged and interested. Still, reading expressively can enhance the experience for them. Yes, it is possible to overdo it, but chance are that when you feel like you are doing too much expression, the children won't. Watch them closely to see how they are reacting and adjust the expression accordingly. Here are some ideas:
  Vary the pitch of your voice. Let it rise in pitch at some points in the story and lower the pitch at other times. Higher pitches often can express tension. If everything is high pitched the effect can be lost.
  Vary the timbre of your voice. Timbre is the tone quality. The most important variation is when different characters speak. Do the voices!
  Vary the tempo of your reading. Some books should be read with a beat, but for most books let your voice speed up and slow down as appropriate.
  Vary the volume of your voice. Some passages should be read loudly and others softly. Don't underestimate the value of a carefully place whisper (a "stage whisper" can be quite loud).
  Have the students repeat interesting parts of the book, like sounds or repeated phrases/expressions.
  Your expressive reading will provide a model for the students when they are reading. In addition, provide explicit instruction to the students about reading expressively. Here's a video clip about the value of expressive reading: