“It’s a Snake, You Guys!”: The Power of Text Characteristics on Children’s Responses to Information Books

This study describes ways in which a small group of preschool children responded to typical information books during read-aloud sessions. Responses were coded according to a content analysis system that included focus of talk and type of talk. The results indicate that even young children are attuned to characteristics of texts and that those characteristics (especially illustrations) have a powerful influence on children’s responses.