Quamut Wiki: Read a Picture Book With Your Pre-Reading Child

Created by ben on 8 September 2007 2:34 pm EDT. Last edited by ben on 8 September 2007 2:37 pm EDT

Have a few books on a shelf or in a stack and pick one or tell the child to pick one.
Have the child sit on your lap or right close next to you on a chair, couch or floor, and hold the book out in front of the child.
Look at the cover and talk about what you see, either pointing things out or asking questions, depending on the age of the child. "Ooh, look at the monster. Does he look scary? Does the boy look scared? What colors do you see? Do you see blue? Are you wearing a blue shirt?"
Read the title and author of the book (never too young to learn about authors).
Talk about the cover for as long as the child seems interested, then start the inside.
Read each page using exaggerated intonation. Rather than go through the entire book without stopping, stop after each page and talk about the pictures. Point things out or ask questions. Spend as much time on each page as the child wants.
When you've finished the book, start again! "Let's read it again!" You'll probably be surprised at how many times the child wants to read the same book over and over, or possibly the same page. Kids will memorize what you've said, even before they can read, and after a while, they will know when you've skipped a line or changed a word. They will probably also take the book themselves at some point and pretend to read. You'll hear them saying the words out loud in exactly the same intonation you gave them.