Looking Ahead: The Communication/Language activity plan in Block 19 uses pictures taken in your room. Please take pictures of current infants and caregivers in your room for use in Block 19. Be sure to follow your center’s procedures for securing consent.

Be Prepared: The book offers many photographs that will appeal to an infant. The last two pages, with names of countries and small photos, will be of limited interest to most young babies and can be omitted in your book sharing.

Be Prepared: The book offers many photographs that will appeal to an infant. The last two pages, with names of countries and small photos, will be of limited interest to most young babies and can be omitted in your book sharing.

Invite an infant to sit with you to read a book. Introduce the book by pointing to and describing the picture on the cover. Example: “Here is a baby and a parent. The baby is being carried on the back of the parent. Our book is about different ways to carry a baby.” There are people babies and animal babies in our book! Our book is about families.” Use the following strategies to engage the infant in the book:

• Invite the infant to help you turn pages of the book. It is okay if the infant skips some pictures.
• Point to and describe the pictures in your own words. Example: “Look at this baby The baby is being carried in front of the dad.”
• Describe what the infant is looking at. Example: “You are looking at the baby being carried on the side of its mom. This mom and baby are in a field with farm animals.” These mommies are carrying their babies.”
• Spend more time describing pictures that seem to be of particular interest to the infant. Example: “You are touching the sling that holds the baby. The mom is carrying the baby in a sling. The baby is smiling.”
• Describe and respond to gestures and/or vocalizations. Example: “You are saying ‘bababababa.’ You like this picture in our book!”
• Help the infant connect book information to his/her knowledge and experiences. Example: “I have seen your mom carry you this way!”
• Use your voice to add interest and enjoyment to the book reading.
• Recognize infant’s participation in the book reading. Example: “We had fun reading a book together, Zoe. You looked at pictures of different ways to carry a baby. You helped me turn the pages of our book. I think you liked this book.”

Be Prepared: The book offers many photographs that will appeal to an infant. The last two pages, with names of countries and small photos, may be of limited interest to the baby in your activity and can be omitted in your book sharing.

Invite an older infant to read a book with you. The infant may wish to sit next to you or stand close while you read.

Invite the infant to help hold the book and turn the pages. You may wish to keep all the pages in your right hand except for the page to be turned. This will help the infant to turn one page at a time. Follow the infant’s cues as to how quickly or slowly to turn the pages.

Point to and describe the picture on the book cover. Example: “Our book is about different ways to carry a baby. There are a lot of pictures in our book.”

• Point to and briefly describe images and actions in pictures in your own words. Example: “Here is a baby. Here is a dad. The baby is being carried on the dad’s back. The baby is in a pack.”
• Invite the infant to point to items you name. Example: “Where is the baby in this picture?”
• Offer more information about pictures that seem to be of particular interest to the infant. Example: “You are pointing to the hat on the baby’s head. The hat is keeping the baby warm. The mom is wearing a coat. I think it is cold outside.”
• Describe and respond to gestures and/or vocalizations. Example: “You are pointing to the baby who is touching the dad’s neck.”
• Help the infant connect book information to his/her experiences and understandings. Example: “Your dad carries you this way, too!”
• Recognize the infant’s participation in the book sharing. Example: “You helped me hold our book, Matthew. You pointed to the babies. You said ‘dadadada’ when you looked at the pictures with dads. You turned the pages to see what was next. We had fun reading this book together.”