QUALITY STORYTENTS
A resource for family, early childhood and community literacy workers
Infant reading doesn’t have that much to do with the actual words on the page; it has more to do with playing and talking, singing and laughing observing and exploring, tickling and having fun together (Kropp, 1993, p. 50). Infants look at books with bursts of intense concentration. The best books for infants have big simple shapes which babies will scrutinize for a few minutes. Board books are best during this book-eating and playing stage. Since babies see in shades of gray, the best books for the first 6 – 8 weeks are black and white or books with high contrast illustrations.
Sometimes between 18 and 30 months a baby’s language skills develop dramatically. At this stage infant reading becomes much closer to ordinary reading. Current research says that a child is busy at this point creating stories in her own mind – to understand herself, the spot of sunlight on the floor, her teddy bear. This is the time when books become much more than shapes and sounds for her; they begin to convey both language and story. The key for this change lies in favourite books. Let children select their favourites from a large number of books. Then read those favourites together with a child again and again. (Kropp, 1993, p. 51).