Labeling during repeated shared reading of print anddigital storybooks

This paper examines differences and/or similarities in a mother and her 3- and 7-year old children’s use of labeling across three book contexts (a traditional print book, a digital book in CD-ROM format and a digital book in video-clip format) across sessions of shared reading, and between the two age groups. The findings showed that the mother and the children used more labelling (statements and requests) in the print book context than digital book contexts. Qualitative analysis revealed that the focus of the mother and the children’s talk was different in the print book context (more on illustrations) and in the digital book contexts (more on story contents). Lastly, the mother’s talk greatly focused on moral lessons.