“I helped coordinate a statewide preschool literacy program that drew on the ideas in this book, and I highly recommend it. It is a user-friendly guide to building early literacy skills in our youngest learners. Teachers will appreciate the numerous materials and practical, specific examples. An excellent resource!”

—Kathy Knighton, MA, Program Coordinator, West Virginia Department of Education


“An invaluable resource. Written in straightforward language and filled with explicit descriptions and examples, this book focuses on the importance not only of reading to children, but of doing so in ways that accelerate their literacy development. From a research perspective, I appreciate how the authors detail the classroom-based studies that support their approach. From a practical perspective, readers will enjoy the wealth of teaching strategies related to specific picture books. I look forward to sharing this book with reading coaches, interventionists, and teachers in early childhood classrooms, as well as with preservice teachers enrolled in an Early Literacy course.”

—April Whatley Bedford, PhD, Chair, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of New Orleans


“A significant addition to the literature on emergent literacy. Justice and Sofka provide teachers with a solid understanding of how children naturally view print around them and how the quality of materials and interactions with adults begin to shape and expand this understanding. Teachers will be enlightened and encouraged by the practical instructional strategies and sample dialogues. This book will move teachers and children beyond rudimentary or accidental forms of instruction into more deliberate and meaningful experiences with print.”

—Terri Purcell, PhD, Department of Teacher Education, Cleveland State University


“Justice and Sofka show us how to engage young children with print in ways that enable them to 'take off' in formal reading instruction later on. This book is evidence based and scholarly, yet user friendly and instructionally transparent. The 30 Sit Together and Read (STAR) lesson plans in the back of the book are elegant models for targeting specific print skills with specific books. Finally—a practical guide that weds language development and emergent literacy theory in the context of socially responsive, sensitive, print-rich activities.”

—Marcia Invernizzi, PhD, Edmund H. Henderson Professor Emerita, School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia


“This unique book provides the scientific evidence for promoting children's early literacy growth through interaction with text. Beautifully written and clearly organized, the book offers teachers a blueprint for providing read-aloud experiences of the highest quality. It takes the oft-repeated refrain 'we should read to our children' and shows exactly why and how. A 'must read' for early literacy professionals and students.”

—Anne E. Cunningham, PhD, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley