Picture Book Reading Experience and Toddlers' Behaviors with Photographs and Books‪.‬

Abstract This study investigated the relationship between picture book reading and 15-month-old toddlers' behaviors with photographs and books. During a pretest, 15-month-olds were presented with one photograph every 15 seconds (i.e., eight photographs in total). Immediately after the pretest, toddlers and their teachers read several short picture books (i.e., reading interaction). The same eight photographs were then re-presented in the same format to toddlers (posttest). Toddlers' behaviors were scored from videotapes as manual investigation (e.g., hitting, touching, or grasping motions) or pointing. Parents also completed 12 questions from the Stony Brook Family Reading Survey. Following a brief reading interaction, toddlers' use of manual investigations remained the same from pre- to posttest, but toddlers' pointing decreased from pre- to posttest. In general, toddlers whose parents reported that they had lower levels of interest in books were more active with both photographs and books than the toddlers whose parents reported higher levels of interest in books. Toddlers' use of manual investigations with photos during the pretest was significantly higher for those toddlers with less reported interest in books compared with the toddlers with higher levels of reported interest in books (M = 7.83 and 1.29, respectively). As theorized by previous researchers, results indicate a link between picture book reading experience and toddlers' behaviors with photographs. Implications for the type of picture books used during reading interactions with young children are discussed.