Abstract
Parent-child storybook conversations are an important aspect of shared reading influenced by parent conversational approaches as well as book reading format. This study examined how traditional and audio book reading formats contribute to parents’ use of decontextualized and contextualized language, meaning- and code-related talk, and management strategies during shared storybook reading. Videotaped observations of twenty-three parent-child dyads were transcribed and coded for language content. Frequency calculations revealed approximately half of all conversational comments were meaning-related. Paired t-test analyses revealed parents used more contextualized meaning-related language, contextualized code-related language, affirmative comments, negative responses, and repetitious remarks during traditional storybook reading compared to audio book reading. Results revealed further that parents used a more directive management approach during audio book reading.