Why there is no wrong way to "read" a felt book

The very notion of "reading," associated from childhood with a precise order, a chronology to be respected, and an expected understanding of the text, does not correspond at all to the way a baby under three naturally interacts with a book. Yet, this interaction, even if far removed from adult reading, already constitutes a legitimate and valuable form of reading tailored to their level.

Faced with a felt book, a baby may start on any page, linger for a long time on the one that interests them most, ignore the others completely, or return several times in a row to the same element without ever moving on. None of these behaviors constitutes an error or an incorrect use of the book.

This lack of norms to follow frees the baby, but also their parents, from a pressure often unnecessary at this age: that of "doing it right," following the order of the pages, or understanding a story in its entirety. What a baby actually gets out of their book at this stage has little to do with the narrative comprehension expected later on.

What the baby builds, through this free and unstructured exploration, has more to do with sensory, motor, and emotional experience than with literary comprehension in the strict sense. These experiences, although different from reading in the classical sense, nevertheless lay the essential foundations for a future positive relationship with books.

Parents can, moreover, lean on this total freedom to adapt their own stance, by following the baby's spontaneous interest rather than imposing a predefined flow. Commenting on the page the baby has chosen to explore, rather than insisting on returning to the first page, respects and values this autonomous exploration.

This flexible approach does not, however, mean a total absence of guidance. The parent's role remains precious, notably for naming the elements observed, sharing a moment of complicity, or simply offering a reassuring presence while the baby explores in their own way, at their own pace.

It is this absence of rigid norms, often counterintuitive for adults accustomed to structured reading, that makes the felt book a tool particularly respectful of the baby's rhythm and real needs, far from any pressure of performance unnecessary at this age.