Abstract

This chapter examines the role of narratives and storytelling in children’s language development; both (i) how adults can facilitate and promote dialogue with children during reading to strengthen children’s language development and understanding, and (ii) how reading aloud gives children an introduction to how the culture relates to and uses texts, and teaches children what reading is and what a reader does (reading direction, turning pages, how to hold the book, study the cover, pointing, etc.). The chapter draws on perspectives from developmental (and cognitive) psychology, particularly focusing on the role of motor processes in learning/cognitive development; this somewhat broader perspective will be narrowed down to perspectives from embodied cognition particularly relevant for (i) children’s development, and (ii) reading (and technologies). The chapter discusses the need for interdisciplinary, multi-method approaches to the field (early technologies in literacy/reading with preschoolers/kindergarten age children) as well as the key theoretical and methodological implications.