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'Reading Is Like Playing with Your Mind': Kindergartners' Meaning-Making of Nonfiction Picturebooks through Play

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Title: 'Reading Is Like Playing with Your Mind': Kindergartners' Meaning-Making of Nonfiction Picturebooks through Play
Language: English
Authors: Courtney Shimek
Source: Language Arts. 2026 103(4):223-235.
Availability: National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 13
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Elementary Education
Kindergarten
Primary Education
Descriptors: Kindergarten, Young Children, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Play, Reader Response, Reading Aloud to Others, Independent Reading, Vocabulary Development, Reading Processes, Imagination
DOI: 10.58680/la20261034223
ISSN: 0360-9170
1943-2402
Abstract: Grounded in Bakhtin's heteroglossia and Rosenblatt's reader response theory, this semester-long case study of a kindergarten classroom located in the Southeast United States explored the playful meaning-making that occurred around nonfiction picturebooks. Part of the research design focused on the interactions that occurred during whole-group interactive read-alouds and the other part examined how students in the classroom continued to process the information discussed during these read-alouds throughout other, less structured parts of the school day. The findings demonstrate that through play, children engage in reader response and develop meaning-making skills necessary for reading development.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1500242
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: 'Reading Is Like Playing with Your Mind': Kindergartners' Meaning-Making of Nonfiction Picturebooks through Play
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  Data: National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
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  Data: Grounded in Bakhtin's heteroglossia and Rosenblatt's reader response theory, this semester-long case study of a kindergarten classroom located in the Southeast United States explored the playful meaning-making that occurred around nonfiction picturebooks. Part of the research design focused on the interactions that occurred during whole-group interactive read-alouds and the other part examined how students in the classroom continued to process the information discussed during these read-alouds throughout other, less structured parts of the school day. The findings demonstrate that through play, children engage in reader response and develop meaning-making skills necessary for reading development.
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      – SubjectFull: Young Children
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      – SubjectFull: Picture Books
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