Book excerpt: From cooing in the crib to first words and sentences, to stories and the final big leap into reading and writing, Growing a Reader from Birth reviews the latest research revealing just how much infants, toddlers, and preschoolers know and can express from the early months on. In chapters that cover each year of a child's language growth, seasoned researcher Diane McGuinness links this new knowledge of how babies first perceive and produce language to her own innovative program for children's later mastery of reading. McGuinness charts how a child initially makes sense of the world of sounds and symbols and then progresses from recognizing and decoding words to developing a vocabulary and using it to become a good listener, an expert reader, and an eloquent speaker. McGuinness also underscores the important role of a child's parents in healthy language development, giving tips and pointers on how parents can best facilitate a child's learning. The past decade has been prolific in the knowledge gained about language development and the parents' pivotal role. It is incontrovertibly clear that without parents' verbal outpourings, language development cannot occur normally and may even shut down altogether. Full of fascinating insights into infant behavior, Growing a Reader from Birth not only illuminates the stages of language learning in children but also wisely counsels parents on how to maximize interactions with their children and be a positive force in nurturing their child's language from day one. Book jacket.