There's a good reason why kids love to hear the same story over and over

Again! Again! Read that one again!" As storytime programmers, we've always taken these requests as great compliments, but we know that many parents shudder at their children's demand to hear the same book over and over. Often parents don't realize just how much their children benefit from repeated readings. Recently we've been talking up these benefits with parents, because repeated readings provide great opportunities to develop early literacy skills.

Young children notice different things each time a book is read. Rereading provides an opportunity to expand a child's world as the parent follows his lead and picks up on the different things that interest him on a particular day. (Oh, yes, that machine is interesting! It's called a crane. It's often used in building construction….") Language development is fostered when a toddler points to a truck, says "truck go," and her parent responds, "Yes, that truck is moving very fast!"

Rereading also provides valuable opportunities for reinforcing learning. A child must hear a new word four to 14 times before it becomes part of his vocabulary. Each rereading reinforces the new vocabulary words encountered in a particular story. New concepts are reinforced as well.

Repetition also helps a child understand how stories work, how one event follows another in a logical sequence, and how a story flows from a defined beginning, moves to a climax, and concludes with some kind of formal closure. This knowledge helps beginning readers understand what they are reading. On the third or fourth or fifth reading, a parent can stop often and encourage the child to say what she thinks will happen next. The adult can also help the child notice how events that happen early in the story relate to later events.

We encourage parents to be creative and think of interesting ways to share a favorite book. Reading research tells us that involving the child in the reading experience is even more important than reading aloud daily. When rereading a favorite book the parent can involve the child by stopping at a dramatic point in a story and inviting the child to take it from there. This is a great confidence builder, as the child feels secure in her knowledge of the story. As the child chooses appropriate words and puts sentences together to tell the story, vocabulary, speaking, and narrative skills grow.

Parents can vary this technique by suggesting that their child use a familiar story as the starting point for a totally new story. The parent provides the prompt. For example, on the last page of David Shannon's popular picture book Duck on a Bike (Scholastic, 2002), the words "The End" appear above a picture of duck contemplating a big red tractor. What a perfect opportunity for a parent to say, "Oh, maybe this isn't really the end! What is duck doing? Yes, it looks like duck is going to find something else to ride! What would happen if duck rode a tractor?"

Asking questions is a great way to involve a child in the story, and a powerful way to use the book as a springboard for conversation with a child. In group storytimes, the adult reader rarely has the option of asking a particular child a personal question (Have you ever felt like that?). In home read-aloud sessions, parents and children can explore all sorts of intimate questions together and develop a special bond around their favorite characters.

Favorite stories are also perfect for acting out. We tell parents to put the book aside and join their child in a creative, dramatic retelling. This supports a host of skills —speaking, listening, and narrative skills—and imaginations soar. When a child acts out a newly encountered word (The kitten pounced! The horse's tail swished!) she will likely remember it and understand its meaning. And of course, the book is made even more fun and memorable when the child literally becomes part of the story.

Children feel secure with books they know. Brain research tells us that children learn best and absorb new information when they feel confident and secure. Encourage all the parents you know to enthusiastically welcome the chance to "Read it again!"