An Eye for Print: Child and Adult Attention to Print During Shared Book Reading

Abstract

According to a simple view of reading, skilled reading is the product of decoding or the ability to turn the printed word into its spoken counterpart, and comprehension or the ability to understand the vocabulary, syntax, morphology, expression, and conventions of the spoken language in which the printed text is written. While an association between shared book reading and language development has been fairly consistently established, the association with reading development is more controversial. The more modest association and even disassociation with the latter may well be a function of the extent to which parents and children jointly attend to the printed text during shared book reading. The purpose of this chapter is to review and integrate previous naturalistic, experimental, and intervention literature with this specific focus.