Book Talk: Growing Into Early Literacy Through Read-Aloud Conversations

Discover the language and learning possibilities of young children’s active engagement with book experiences, in which they talk with one another as they make meaning from literature centered around their lives and interests. Drawing from their backgrounds as teachers and researchers, as well as their many experiences facilitating and observing read-alouds with diverse students, the authors provide a practical guide to conducting book discussions that promote deep engagement and the natural development of literacy skills (PreK–2). The text includes detailed recommendations for setting up the classroom reading environment, selecting books, preparing materials, setting goals, and integrating discussions with curricular demands, all while maintaining a child-centered philosophy and addressing the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Book Talk melds theory about literacy learning with the practical realities of reading and talking with young children in 21st-century preschool and primary classrooms.

Book Features:

• Promotes read-aloud experiences that keep children, their backgrounds, and their experiences front and center.
• Offers guidance for tailoring discussions around specific learning goals across the literacy curriculum.
• Shares the authors’ learning journeys and their support for the learning of other early childhood educators.
• Includes vignettes from classroom literature discussions, as well as conversations between educators.
• Incorporates classroom observations, teacher reflections, and research-based teaching practices.
• Addresses a variety of early childhood audiences, including preschool, kindergarten, and primary-grade teachers, preservice teacher candidates, school librarians, and teacher educators.

Sherry Sanden, a former preschool and primary teacher, is associate professor of early childhood literacy in the School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University. Cassandra Mattoon teaches kindergarten at the Thomas Metcalf Laboratory School at Illinois State University. Sandra L. Osorio, a former bilingual early childhood teacher, is an associate professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University.