From babbling to echoing, from labeling to narrating, everything your child “says” about books is important. As children’s first teachers of language, parents select books that help children do what they are already trying to do. Childcare providers and teachers, too, select different books for different levels of interest and language development.

The storytime experience for an infant needs to keep pace with his attention span—and that can be fleeting.

	The child in this clip makes connections to words that she understands and objects that she knows in the real world.

So, choose the right time for reading to baby (for example, in the happy times after feeding or naps). Next, choose appropriate books. Board books with bright, bold illustrations and few words (or even wordless books) can put language into play. As you read, point out an object of interest, make those goofy sounds, and keep the pages turning. By making the book time short, it can be over before baby tells you it is. While reading to infants, parents do something wonderful (and completely natural). As babies begin to babble, parents “receive” the sounds as though they make sense. In response to “bah bah bah,” parents are likely to say, “Yes, that’s a bottle!” And book talk has begun.

As the toddler begins to point and label familiar objects in books, it’s time to stretch language further. When Baby says “dog” in response to her favorite book, her “book talking” partner probably extends the talk: “Yes, I see that big red ball.” When the page is turned, the grown-up asks: “Now, what do you see?’’ Stories may not yet be formed. Every word in “The Three Bears” won’t be sat still for. But the grown-up may now be pointing out “Papa Bear,” “Mama Bear,” and “Baby Bear,” and even using book language: “too hot,” “too cold” and “just right.” It won’t be long before toddlers are chiming in with “Just right” at the appropriate time. You may notice that pages need not be turned quite so quickly to keep children engaged as their vocabulary builds and attention spans increase. Toddlers respond to books that invite prediction (books with flaps and surprises), concept books with colors, shapes, and letters embedded in rhyming patterns, books with the child’s favorite things inside (e.g., babies, trucks, kittens), as well as songs, fingerplays, verses, and photo albums of their own family, toys, and activities.

After all that labeling (that “noun-ing”), children get ready to talk about action. And action is how stories are formed. Adults demonstrate how stories work in their own talk: “I see that cat. What is the cat doing? Where is the cat going?” Book selections should now include picturebooks with simple story lines, supported by illustrations and clear patterns. These stories also introduce characters that have a problem to solve. The character’s steps toward solving the problem make for the child’s introduction to plot. And character and plot talk? Who could want for more? It can sound like this: “He lost his blankie. Why he lost it?” and then like this: “They can’t go upstairs! There’s no steps!”

Just as children need more space, bigger clothes, more food, and different toys as they grow, so do their needs shift for books and book talk. Adults adjust the pace and talk in different ways, following the children’s leads, and keeping in mind: “It’s all talk, and it’s all important.”