A 3 year old infant is at a selected stage of social and intellectual development whereby he is open to reading and learning and is very inquisitive. In reading, the infant has left the stage of books with one or two sentences and can understand proper story telling (Neuman & Dickinson, 2011). This implies that book selection should be one that can be enjoyed and can be read again. At this stage, books open up another world of different places, interest, animals and subjects.
In order to foster the child’s intellectual ability, the selected book should have certain features. First, pictures represent an outstanding literary form that blends art with stories. Illustrations and texts blend to tell a story. Children choose books by the first impression of illustrations. Another important feature of the selected book should enable children learn about colors, numbers, shapes and letters all drawn in an attractive manner. The book should have simple images so that the child can point out everyday objects, names of animals, people and places. As a parent or teacher, one should select a book with pictures that expand on what they already know (Reading is Fundamental, 2007). Careful exploration of the illustrations may even uncover new facts about familiar items. The inquisitive nature of the child moves him to ask new questions about inventions, history, nature and other cultures.
Studies on literacy development reveal that concentration on oral language has an advantageous effect to long-tern literacy development with related research indicating continuity between language ability in pre-school years and later years of reading (McGee & Richgels, 2003). Book reading regularly has been found to have the capacity to create interactional contexts that cultivate language progress.
References
McGee, L. M., & Richgels, D. J. (2003). Designing early literacy programs: Strategies for at-risk preschool and kindergarten children. New York: Guilford Press.
Neuman, S., & Dickinson, D. K. (2011). Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 3. New York: Guilford Publications.
Reading is Fundamental. (2007). Get Readt to Read: Getting the Most Out of Picture Books. Retrieved from http://www.getreadytoread.org/early-learning-childhood-basics/early-literacy/getting-the-most-out-of-picture-books on 31/5/2013.
