Literacy develops from experience.  Having books read to them is a pleasurable , motivating experience for youngsters.  Babies enjoy the patterns of rhythm and the repetition of sounds in familiar voices. Encourage young children to point to objects in the book and name them. As toddlers, children will start to identify parts of stories to their own experiences. They will imitate reading and often will pick the same book to be read over and over to them. Recognizing books from their covers and learning to turn the pages all are a part of developing literacy. As children near Kindergarten, it can be fun for them to predict what will happen next in a story.  Read to children every day and make books available to them to choose and to “read” daily.