Caregiver-Mediated Activities: Books

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Infants enjoy sharing and looking at books with their caregivers and parents. Book sharing with infants provides rich opportunities for both receptive and expressive language development that contributes not only to oral language development but to emergent literacy as well. The emphasis of the interaction is on a shared conversation about what is pictured rather than on the adult’s reading the actual story text (Honig & Lally, 1981; Honig & Shin, 2001). Recent research has indicated that infants and toddlers in group care may have only limited opportunities for book sharing in some classrooms and that the techniques used by caregivers influence children’s responses to book sharing (Honig & Shin, 2001).

Books for infants should be made of a durable material such as cardboard, plastic, or cloth. The illustrations should be simple and large (Maxim, 1990). Caregivers can make infant books by mounting magazine pictures on cardboard or cloth (Honig & Lally, 1981). These books should be short, about four pages long, and can be on a single subject, such as food, toys, or animals.

Specific guidelines for caregivers to observe in sharing books with infants include the following (Honig & Brophy, 1996; Honig & Shin, 2001):

1. Select a quiet area in which to read, free of other sound or visual distractions.
2. Sit comfortably with the infant in your lap.
3. Talk slowly, enjoying each page of the book.
4. Monitor the infant’s eye gaze and any gestures to determine his attention to a particular picture. Take more time talking about pictures he is interested in.
5. Talk with expression, providing labels, adding sound effects, and using variations in intonation to encourage responses.
6. Continue the book sharing only until the infant shows a lack of interest. Do not be concerned with finishing the book.
7. Encourage the infant to respond with sounds, vocalizations, and gestures appropriate to the storybook content (e.g., growling for the lion, grunting for the pig; patting the bunny)
8. Repeat sharing of same book at different times. This repetition encourages infants to predict upcoming story content based on prior experiences with the book.
9. Expect infants to respond individually to the storybook sharing and tailor your interaction to meet the interests and communication efforts of each child.