Adult/child conversations around shared-book reading can include explicit use of declarative statements or general talk in which teachers label/identify information (teacher points to picture in a book, This is a liquid), define/explain (The basement is the part of a building that is underground), clarify associations between words and concepts (A roof is on the outside of a house, and a ceiling is on the inside of a house. Look at this picture, is this a roof or a ceiling?), andrelate a book to children’s experiences (Tell me about a garden youhave seen). Such comments and statements allow teachers to draw