Picture Books and Life
Bring a picture book to life by finding familiar objects, acting out expressions, and joining your child in the story.
- 18 months
- Quick prep
- At home
- About 15 minutes
Developmental benefits
- Language：Comparing pictures with real objects and acting out a character’s expressions and actions helps your child understand what the pictures mean.
- Social/Emotional：Following your child’s responses and joining their actions during shared reading helps them feel safe, connected, and understood.
Preparation
What You’ll Need
- 1
A picture book, such as Pip and Posy: The Super Scooter
Step 1
A Scooter in the Story
While reading, your child may notice something that you also have at home and bring the real object to you. Follow their interest: connect the object with the picture and use it to act out what happens in the story.
What to notice
- Finds an object at home that matches one in the book
Emergent Literacy - Returns their attention to the book with your help
Cognitive Self-Regulation (Executive Functioning)
Tips
- Point to a familiar object in the picture and ask, “Do we have one at home? Where is it?” Your child can point toward it or bring it to you.
- After exploring the real object together, use the next event in the book to draw your child’s attention back to the story.
Step 2
What Does Angry Look Like?
Go beyond reading the words: play a character and exaggerate the character’s facial expression. Then pause. Your child may study the picture, frown, pat the page, or copy your face.
What to notice
- Laughs at your performance
Emotional Functioning - Copies your facial expression
Imitation and Symbolic Representation and Play
Tips
- You do not need to repeat every line exactly. Add your own voice, face, or movement to make the moment lively.
- Name the feeling as you make the expression: “He looks angry.” This connects the word with the face.
- Copying a character’s expression together makes the feeling easier to notice and turns reading into active play.
Step 3
We’re Best Friends
Your child may copy a familiar action from the story. When a character hugs or holds hands, they might move closer or reach toward you. Respond to the action. If they do not join in yet, invite them: “Can we hug like the friends?”
What to notice
- Moves closer, reaches toward you, or returns your hug
Relationships with Adults - Interacts with you while sharing the book Emergent Literacy
Tips
- At eighteen months, your child may not remember an entire plot. Choose one short part they understand and enjoy, then act it out together.
- Name an object in the picture and invite your child to point to where it is on the page.
Better Parenting Content Team · Updated September 11, 2026