Abstract
Chlldren look at pictures in storybooks before they begin to read from print. In the present study, one child's emergent reading attempts were recorded monthly for two years (from age 2; 0 to 4; 2 years). Analyses focused on the development of the child's storytelling style, and on the ways in which she related herself to storybook characters. The following were the four stages of the child's reading development. (1) The child started to narrate the storybook, but did not realize that she had to narrate it to her mother. (2) She narrated using colloquial expressions and announced the beginning and ending of the story. In these two stages, the child sometimes spoke to the characters, suggesting that she was not aware of her role as a reader. (3) She expressed her ideas about the story, suggesting awareness of her role as a reader. (4) Finally, she narrated the story using formal expressions as if she were reading from the print. This indicated that she thought of herself as a storyteller.
