Emerging Patterns of Literacy

In a unique study of parent-infant interactions at home, Rhian Jones analyses early reading with picture books and stories. Drawing upon psychology, linguistics and anthropology she provides a wide ranging and highly original account of the conversational 'rules' of reading dialogues, semantic knowledge and picture book reading, the ontogenesis of narrative and the construction and expression of the infant unconscious. This provides an absorbing and valuable account to all academics and practitioners concerned with language acquisition, literacy and early childhood development.

Rhian Jones is a member of the Child Language Acquisition and Pathology Research Group at the University of Paris René Descartes.

Introduction 1 Part I Infant-parent interaction 1 READING AND THE VERY YOUNG INFANT 2 A SENSE OF SELF: THE INFANT AS INDIVIDUAL Part II The semantics of picturebook reading 3 PICTUREBOOK READING AND WORD MEANING 4 PICTUREBOOK READING AS EVENT INTERPRETATION Part III The ontogenesis of narrative 5 THE WORLD OF THE STORY 6 STORY GRAMMAR AND TEXT Part IV Further aspects of the self 7 MATERNAL SPEECH AND INFANT PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT 8 EMERGENT LITERACY: A WINNICOTTIAN VIEW, CONCLUDING REMARKS