ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we examine storybook reading, the event in which an adult reads aloud to an individual child or a group of children. Many research studies indicate that the storybook reading experience is an important, positive force in young children's literacy development (e.g., Burroughs, 1972; Chomsky, 1972; Clark, 1976; Feitelson, Goldstein, Iraqi, & Share, 1993; Feitelson, Kita, & Goldstein, 1986; Greaney, 1986; Snow & Tabors, 1993; Tobin, 1981; Wells, 1985). In other words, storybook reading is an educational setting in which children learn from texts. But what constitutes the text of a storybook reading? Research of the past decade indicates that, in addition to the words of the author being read aloud, there is, among the participants in a storybook reading, considerable discussion and social interaction about the book (e.g., Cochran-Smith, 1984; Dickinson, De Temple, Hirschler, & Smith, 1992; Dickinson & Keebler, 1989; Dickinson & Smith, 1994; Green, Harker, & Golden, 1986; Martinez & Teale, 1993; Sulzby & Teale, 1987; Taylor, 1986; Teale & Sulzby, 1987). Moreover, these studies suggest that the presence of conversation and social interaction surrounding the words of the book itself is a primary reason storybook reading markedly affects young children's literacy development. It might be said, then, that the learning that results from storybook reading comes from participating in the construction of a complex text, one that includes both the language and ideas of the author and the comments, questions, and discussion about the book from the participants in the reading.
