Pointing Out Book Parts
Whenever you read a book with your child(ren), making it a habit to point out the different parts of a book can be very beneficial. This practice can allow little one(s) to develop print awareness (a familiarity with books) and print motivation (a drive to engage with books). For example, before opening a book, you can mention where the front of the book is, plus what information is usually found on front (title, author’s name, illustrator’s name, etc). You can do the same for the back and the side (spine) of the book.
You can start by pointing out more fundamental book parts, such as the front, back and spine. Over time, you can graduate to making note of less elementary parts, such as the table of contents or page numbers. Eventually, you can also start to ask your little one(s) to point out the parts of the book themselves.
While this isn’t a comprehensive list, here are some common book parts that you can point out:
Front Cover (Hard Cover, Soft Cover), Spine/Side, Back Cover, Title, Author’s Name, Illustrator’s Name, Artwork/Illustrations, Publisher’s Name, Date of Publication, Table of Contents, Page Numbers, Subtitles, Title Page, Dedication Page, References Page, Index, Glossary, Parts of The Text (Lowercase Letters, Uppercase Letters, Words, Sentences, Periods, Exclamation Points, Commas, etc)
I would like to give credit to Ms. Lina Osho-Williams of the Hartford Public Library in Hartford, Connecticut, who first taught me about the importance of pointing out parts of books. She was the inspiration behind this deep dive topic.
References:
TRC Training Hub. "Parts of a Book: The Importance of Book Structure." TRC Training Hub Blog, 2012, https://trctraininghub.blogspot.com/2012/04/parts-of-book-importance-of-book.html.
Reading Rockets. "Print Awareness: Guidelines for Instruction." Reading Rockets, WETA, https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/curriculum-and-instruction/articles/print-awareness-guidelines-instruction.