20 Summer/Fall 2013 • Children and Libraries W hat happens when preschoolers are introduced to a book that they really like? They want their parents and caregivers to read it to them over and over again, of course! Research about reading to children has repeatedly demonstrated this phenomenon, although researchers are not sure why some children develop such strong attachments to particular books. What seems clear, though, is that children’s preferences drive learning, and repeated exposure to a story can deliver benefits in several developmental domains, including vocabulary and motor areas. 1 After the first few hundred readings, parents start to wonder if their child will ever get bored of hearing the same story, since the parents are certainly tired of it. But the preschooler will simply ask for it to be read again and again and again. Since nothing in the world happens exactly the same way twice, each time the book is read, it is slightly different. And each time the same story is read aloud, the child’s connection with the story grows. 2 Research demonstrates that children benefit most from read-alouds that actively involve them, 3 yet a child hearing a book only once has much less to say about it than a child who has experienced the same book in multiple ways. Librarians and other early-literacy-program facilitators know that it takes a few weeks before everyone learns the words and actions to the opening and closing songs. We usually sing the same opening and closing songs to give kids a sense of the structure and routine. But if we consider that repetition is actually the developmental strategy that children take to learn new things, then we may wish to consider also repeating the books and stories we present during our storytime sets. A few weeks before the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, a question arose on the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) electronic discussion list regarding the value of repetition in children’s library programs. A lively discussion ensued, and participants were invited to join the Preschool Services Discussion Group at the conference for a conversation about repetition of books and stories in preschool storytime. Sponsored by ALSC and run by Sue McCleaf Nespeca and Linda Ernst, the Preschool Services Discussion Group operates an electronic discussion list as well an in-person discussion group at each ALA Annual Conference. Diamant-Cohen, one of the authors of the forthcoming book Transforming Preschool Storytime from Neal-Schuman, agreed to facilitate this discussion, and about fifteen people joined her for a brainstorming session. Repeat after Me! Repetition and Early Literacy Development BETSY DIAMANT-COHEN, TESS PRENDERGAST, AND CHRISTY ESTROVITZ Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen (far left) is a children’s programming consultant and trainer who has worked in children’s museums and public libraries for more than thirty years. She has an MLS and a doctorate in communications design. Tess Prendergast, (middle) a children’s librarian at Vancouver (BC) Public Library for fifteen years, has just begun working on her PhD in early literacy at the University of British Columbia. Christy Estrovitz (left) is the Early Literacy Specialist with the San Francisco Public Library and member of the Every Child Ready to Read Oversight Committee.