http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/early_years/2012/04/playing_with_books_is_important_key_to_early_literacy.html
I can remember reading picture books to my kids when they were babies and noticing how they were more interested in flipping the thick cardboard pages than in paying attention to the simple stories.
That behavior—and the occasional gnawing of a page—is one of several associated with babies’ development of early literacy skills. That’s according to the website of Zero to Three, a national, nonprofit organization promoting the health and development of infants and toddlers.
“Looking at early literacy development as a dynamic developmental process, we can see the connection (and meaning) between an infant mouthing a book, the book handling behavior of a 2-year-old, and the page turning of a 5-year-old,” says the website’s page on early literacy. “We can see that the first three years of exploring and playing with books, singing nursery rhymes, listening to stories, recognizing words, and scribbling are truly the building blocks for language and literacy development.”