During read-aloud sessions, some toddlers babble along as if they were reading, too. Some toddlers get very excited while being read to because they recognize an object in the book that exists in real life. Toddlers tend to like bedtime reading sessions when they are already relaxed. They like predictable books with repetition and rhymes that they can repeat. Toddlers at this stage can look at the pictures while listening to an adult read.
Older toddlers can still get excited when they recognize objects in books.
Toddlers in this age group may look at books alone. They point to objects in picture books and say the words out loud. Toddlers may repeat some of the text of a familiar book in their own words. This shows that the toddler understands the meaning of the text, even if the words are not repeated exactly as written. If a toddler is very familiar with a story, the adult reader can pause to let the child say the ending of the sentence.