Talking with your child about a book, before, during and after reading it, helps them learn new words and understand the story. Picture books come with a few questions and pictures to help you do that. They are for the grown-up. Nothing your child says is recorded or marked.
Before you read: the picture walk
The first time a picture book is opened, a screen called "Before you read" comes up before page one. It shows the cover and the picture of the story's big moment, each with a question or two to ask your child, such as "What do you think will happen?" or "How does the fox feel here?". Any answer is a good one. The point is for your child to predict, so they want to find out.
The screen also has one line on how to talk about this book. Press "Start the book" to begin reading. If your child opens the book alone, that one press takes them straight to the story.
The screen appears only the first time a book is opened. Reading it again, or picking up where your child left off, goes straight to the story.
While you read: a question for each page
On any page, press the "Ask Pip" button at the bottom of the screen and then "Ask me something". Pip asks a question about that page. The questions are written for each page, so they use the words on it. Where the book is teaching a new word, or bringing back one your child has met before, the question on that page is usually about the word.
The questions come in five kinds, and younger children get more of the first:
| Kind | Example |
|---|---|
| Finish the sentence | "The dragon was very ___?" |
| Remember | "What did she lose at the start?" |
| Open | "What do you think the fox will do with the boot?" |
| Why or how | "Why did he hide?" |
| Have you ever | "Have you ever felt left out, like Mo?" |
A good way to use any of them: ask the question, accept whatever your child says, add one idea or word of your own, then ask again.
After you read: tell it back
After the last page and any questions at the end, the finished screen shows three pictures from the book, labeled "First...", "Then..." and "At the end...". Point at each picture and ask your child what happened. Under each picture is a short line from the story in case your child gets stuck. If the book had no "Before you read" screen, the line on how to talk about the book is shown here instead.
Which books have them
The picture walk and the tell-it-back pictures come with picture books, which are the books for ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 7. Chapter books do not have them: a chapter book has fewer pictures and is usually read alone, and its questions at the end already ask what happened in what order. Every book, picture or chapter, has Pip's question for each page.
Books made before these were added do not have the picture walk or the tell-it-back pictures. A book whose questions could not be written well enough is shown without them, and reads exactly the same. We can also switch them off for a while; when they are off, the screens are not shown.
See also Questions at the end of a book and Read-along and the tools inside a book.