ABSTRACT
Infant mastication is a common cultural reference. This chapter considers the very broad definition of reading that adults hold in terms of reading with/to a baby, and ask why it is that the very common experience of chewing books is not generally understood as reading. It offers an interpretation of book biting as an open secret of the sort usually associated with sexuality and sexual shame. For babies, reading can be defined as engaging with the words, the pictures, the concepts, or the physical nature of the book. Adults generally seem to accept a variety of completely non-textual acts to be part of infant reading practices. Studies on infant literacy practices consider dramatic re-enactment to be a form of "reading". There are, of course, negative aspects to biting books. Adults may find babies chewing on books difficult for practical reasons; it interrupts the ability to see the words and turn the page when trying to read with a baby.
