Young children's emotional attachments to stories

In the interest of dei,eloping a more holistic and integrated understanding of young children's experience of stories, this studs, describes preschool ers' emotional attachments to stories and the cultural beliefs and practice s which surround such attachments. Thirty-two European-American, middle-cla ss families, participated in an interview study of their children's story a ttachments, and five of these mothers also participated in a short-term, lo ngitudinal diary study. Every child experienced at least two emotional atta chments to stories. Children here captivated by stories presented in differ ent media, with many attachments occurring around video stories in addition to books. They expressed their attachments by repeatedly requesting the st ory expressing strong feelings, and enacting the store in pretend play. Sto ry attachments were social in two fundamental ways: children created relati onships with the characters in their favorite stories, and story attachment s emerged in the context of relationships with caregivers whose beliefs and practices supported such attachments.