TODDLERS

GET READY TO READ

Shining

Stars

HOW PARENTS CAN HELP THEIR TODDLERS GET READY TO READ
HOW TO USE 

THIS BOOKLET

You are your child’s first and most

important teacher. This booklet

gives you ideas on how to help

your young child get ready to read. 

• Read the story Jack’s First Book

on PAGES 1-3. Watch for

ways the parent in the story

helps her child get ready to

read. You might want to look at

the checklist on the back page

first for ideas.

• The page from the alphabet

book on PAGE 4 suggests

some questions and activities

you can use to help your

children learn more about

stories, and how letters look

and sound. 

• The ideas in this booklet can

be used with other books when

you read with your child.

• The CHECKLIST on the

back page can remind you of

ways to make reading time

more fun and interesting. You

might post it on the refrigerator

or use it as a bookmark.
A Parent’s Story

Jack’s First Book

I remember the day Jack came home. I held him tight every step of the

way! A baby feels so fragile when you carry him out of the hospital. Jack depended on me for

everything. I knew someday that would change. In fact, Jack turns three years old today and

he has grown up so much already. But in those early days, I had to figure out a lot on my own.

For example, after the baby wakes up from his nap, and you feed him and change his

diaper—what do you do then? They don’t tell you about that in the hospital! I played peeka-boo with him, said funny words and sounds, and counted his fingers and toes. But was that

enough? I asked my sister, who teaches first grade. She said “babies learn by playing,” which

meant I was doing the right things to help Jack learn about the world around him and the

sounds of language. 

When Jack was a few months old, my sister gave him a beautiful alphabet book.

“Sandra,” she said, “let’s read with Jack this afternoon.” I thought she was crazy. Jack was

more likely to chew on the book than read it! But I sat him on my lap and held the book

open. He slapped and grabbed at the pages, ripping some of them. I kept reading even

though it felt silly. At first I read the words exactly the way they were written, but when I

put more enthusiasm into reading aloud and used special voices, Jack liked it more.

I’m a shy person, so it felt strange at first roaring like a lion on the “L” page or

crowing like a rooster on the “R” page. 

Jack’s mom uses

interesting, funny voices

when she reads to make

books interesting for Jack.

Jack’s mom reads words

clearly so Jack hears all

the sounds.

Jack’s mom talks to him

from the day he is born. 

TODDLERS 1
I started getting tired of reading the same books every

day and almost gave away the alphabet book. But when Jack was

about a year old, I noticed that he liked the book in new ways. When we got to the lion page,

he was waiting for me to roar. He roared with me and shrieked with laughter! When I read 

the “J” page (“Jacob the jumpy Jaguar juggles the jagged jewels”) Jack got quiet and looked

carefully at the picture. I wondered if he was hearing the “J” sound from his name in all of

those words.

After dinner one night I gave Jack the alphabet book but he held it upside down. I never

thought of that before: there are “rules” for how you read a book! A book has a top 

and a bottom. We turn pages from right to left, and read words from the left side of the page

to the right side. I thought kids just knew this, but we have to show them how a book works!

We even have to show them the difference between a letter and a word, and between words

and pictures! 

One afternoon, when Jack was eleven months old, was

very special for me. I was talking to my sister on the phone about the huge new

shopping center in our little town. I said, “it’s so big,” and Jack said from his crib, “big!”

although it sounded more like “beek!” 

Before then, he would say sounds like “ma” when I said “ma,” but this was a real word!

I told my sister I’d call her back, went over to Jack and said “big.” 

“Beek,” he said again, giggling and smiling like the sun had just come out. 

Jack and I had been communicating since he was born, but this felt like the first time

we actually talked together. Jack watched my mouth when I said words and looked back and

forth between my eyes and my lips. (I never knew I could be so entertaining!) 

More and more, he would imitate me, say the same sounds, and laugh when I laughed.

My sister said these were the “baby steps” to reading. 

The “B” page in Jack’s alphabet book had the word “bananas,” and when we had

bananas for breakfast I said “bananas” slowly to him so that he could hear all of the sounds

in the word. 

2

Jack’s mom shows him

picture books while he’s

a baby. 

Jack’s mom reads the

books Jack likes over and

over again. 

TODDLERS
My sister says this is called “phonemic awareness,” or knowing the sounds of spoken

language, but I just call it “fun with food.” 

As Jack got older, he became a real chatterbox. My sister

said, “Ask him a lot of questions. Encourage him to answer with more than one-word.” Great

advice—I asked him questions and encouraged him to answer in whole sentences. Then he

started asking me the questions! I tried to be patient, which wasn’t always easy. 

On one trip to the grocery store, when Jack was two, it was late and I was tired, and he

kept asking questions. He picked up an avocado: “What’s this?” He pointed to a cereal box:

“Mom, look!” He pointed to a stack of soda cans. I thought he was going to push them

down and I started to get angry, but then I saw the look in his eyes: he was just curious. I

decided right then that every question deserved an answer. 

I can’t wait for Jack to open his birthday presents. He asked for a bulldozer, red

sneakers, and some books. New books! What a relief! Not that I’m complaining. All of

those hours of reading, talking, and playing with Jack helped him get used to how words

and letters sound, and what words mean. My sister said that the more words he knows,

the better reader he will be. The fact that he knows “bulldozer” and “rooster” and lots of

other words makes me proud. 

For his birthday, I’m giving Jack three books. One is

about animals that live in the Amazon jungle. Another is about farm machines. The

third is a brand new copy of his first alphabet book. The original is pretty torn up and

dirty. We’ll keep that one, for sure, but I want him to have a nice copy to keep forever.

Because that’s where it all started. 

3

The End.

TODDLERS

Jack’s mom lets him play with

books—opening the pages,

turning them around, and

pointing to the pictures.
TODDLERS

likes large, lemon lollipops.

L

Linus the leopard 

M

Max the monkey makes a messy

marshmallow milkshake.

N

Nichelle the nightingale 

nests in neat noodles.

O

Opal the octopus 

organizes the owl orchestra.

There’s more to reading together than just saying the words. 

Try asking your toddler questions like these when you read together.

Point to the pictures

• Do you see the big bird? Point to the

big bird.

(Child points to Nichelle)

• Do you see the owls? Point to them.

(Child points to them)

• How many are there?

Three.

• I see two things that the animals are

eating. Can you show me?

(Child points to lollipop, milkshake)

Talk about the pictures

• How many animals are on this page?

(Count with your child, with both of

you using your fingers.)

Seven (including the three owls)

• Does Max the Monkey have ears? 

Show me where they are.

• What is Max doing? 

Drinking a milkshake.

• What is Linus doing?

Licking a lollipop.

• What flavor do you think it is?

Lemon? Banana?

• What kind of animal is Linus?

A leopard.

• Linus looks like a cat. What sound 

does a cat make?

Meow. 

• What do cats like to do?

(Play, take naps in the sun, drink milk)

• Linus has spots. Can you show me 

his spots?

Some three-year-olds can begin

learning letter sounds and names.

Try these:

• Let’s look at this big letter L. (Point to

it and say the L sound.) “Linus” and

“lollipop” begin with L. Let’s think of

other words that start with L?

(Suggest some) Lunch, love, light, laugh.

• How about “lamp?” Does that begin

with the L sound?

Yes.

• Show me the four big letters and let’s

say their names. (Trace each letter 

with your fingers and say it. Do it 

a few times.)

Activity Page

4
This publication was produced under National Institute for Literacy

Contract No. ED-00CO-0093 with RMC Research Corporation. The

views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the policies of

the National Institute for Literacy. No official endorsement by the

National Institute for Literacy of any product, commodity, entity, or

enterprise in this publication is intended or should be inferred. 

The National Institute for Literacy, an agency in the Federal

government, is authorized to help strengthen literacy across the

lifespan. The Institute works to provide national leadership on

literacy issues, including the improvement of reading instruction for

children, youth, and adults by sharing information on scientifically

based research. 

Sandra Baxter, Director

Lynn Reddy, Deputy Director

The Partnership for Reading, a project administered by the National

Institute for Literacy, is a collaborative effort of the National

Institute for Literacy, the National Institute of Child Health and

Human Development, the U.S. Department of Education, and the

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to make evidencebased reading research available to educators, parents, policymakers, and others with an interest in helping all people learn to

learn well.

This Partnership for Reading publication describes strategies proven

to work by the most rigorous scientific research available on the

teaching of reading. The research that confirmed the effectiveness 

of these strategies used systematic, empirical methods drawn from

observation or experiment; involved rigorous data analyses to test its

hypotheses and justify its conclusions; produced valid data across

multiple evaluators and observations; and was accepted by a peerreviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts. 

The application of these research-based strategies will increase 

the likelihood of success in reading instruction. Adherence to

scientifically based research in this publication was ensured by a

review process that included representatives of each Partnership for

Reading organization and external expert reviewers. For detailed

information on this review process, contact the Partnership for

Reading at the National Institute for Literacy, 1775 I Street NW,

Suite 730, Washington, DC 20006.

Written by C. Ralph Adler and Elizabeth Goldman, design by Lisa T.

Noonis and Diane Draper, and production by Bob Kozman, all of

RMC Research Corporation.

This brochure is based on A Child Becomes A Reader—Birth to

Preschool, published by the National Institute for Literacy. For a free

copy of the full booklet, visit www.nifl/gov.

For additional copies of this booklet, download PDF or HTML

versions at www.nifl.gov. To order print copies, contact the National

Institute for Literacy at ED Pubs, PO Box 1398, Jessup, Maryland

20794-1398. Call 1-800-228-8813 or email edpubs@inet.ed.gov

2006

Checklist

FOR PARENTS OF TODDLERS

❏ I read with my child every

day, even if it’s only for a 

few minutes.

❏ I encourage my child to bring

his favorite books to me so

that we can read together.

❏ I point to pictures and name

them out loud, and

encourage my child to point

to pictures while we read.

❏ I watch to see if my child

sometimes makes eye contact

with me when I read aloud.

That tells me she is paying

attention to me and the story.

❏ I talk with my child

throughout the day about

things we are doing and

things that are happening

around us.

Here are some ways you

can help your child “get

ready to read” during the

ages of 2 and 3.

❏ I try to be patient when my

child wants to read the same

book over and over again.

❏ I encourage my child to

“play” with books—pick them

up, flip them from front to

back, and turn the pages.

❏ Sometimes I listen when my

child “pretends” to read a

book—he holds the book,

goes from page to page,

and says words, even though

they’re not the words on 

the page.

❏ I give my child paper and

crayons so she can scribble,

make pictures, and pretend

to write.

This checklist is adapted from 

A Child Becomes a Reader—

Birth Through Preschool. Get a 

free copy at www.nifl.gov.

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