Reading marks initiation of self-exploration, which is the second key to creating a strong foundation of childhood experiences. Comparing the shared experience of reading with children to visiting museums, Looking at Art Together encourages parents to do both with their children.

1. Current research indicates that reading with a child is perhaps the single most important thing a parent can do to prepare that child for success in life. Looking at art, like reading, is an opportunity to share and explore meaningful content with a child, opening up paths to better parent-child communication and a richer intellectual life.
   

Books provide children with the ability to draw stronger inferences from the presented material versus other mediums such as television. An example of children’s capabilities to retain information from books versus television is discussed in study from the early 1980s initiated by Laurene Meringoff, a colleague of Howard Gardner at Harvard Project Zero. The researchers watched two groups of children interact with the same story using the same illustrations. One group watched an animated video, and the second read the story from the book. After both groups of children had been exposed to the story, the researchers asked questions to see what inferences the children had made and how they compared. Gardner found that the children who had seen the movie were able to make inferences solely limited to what they had seen, including the emotions expressed on the characters faces and the difficulty of activities presented. However, they were not able to relate events to their own lives beyond the material presented. One the other hand, children who had read the book were able to make inferences that went beyond the visual presentation, drawing on their own experiences or their knowledge of the real world. For instance, one of the little girls mentioned that the character could not lift the axe because it was too heavy, an inference she had made based on her own experience. A child reading a book was more easily able to apply the event to extended periods of time frames, whatever seemed plausible within the narrative of the book and their own experience. The children who had watched the movies were, conversely, not able to relate their own experiences to anything other than what they had seen in the movie; they could only recall the superficial flow of information. Gardner concluded that television is a more self-contained experience, and that when “within this bounded real, the visual component emerged as paramount.” The book gave greater access to language of the story, greater expanses of time and space, and most importantly, encouraged connections to other realms of life.

Literacy plays an important role in the development of self, by giving children numerous opportunities they might not find elsewhere. “Books are often instrumental to developing the central theme in a person’s life by providing a cultural model around which once can organize one’s actions and goals.” Books enable children to find understanding in the world in which they live, and explore past, new and different worlds, meet new characters who have done amazing things or faced perplexing obstacles, probe questions, and most importantly, to create new memories through the use of vivid imagination stimulated by reading. Like play, imagination and dreams are valuable parts of our memories and life story. Smith said,

1. All worlds of the imagination are realities, including our dreams and our play. They are realities in the sense that they relate directly to our cognitions and emotions; they do not represent anything else. We interpret these imagined worlds in the same terms, respond to them with the same feelings, and remember the same ways. Events of the past can bring tears to the eyes of joy to the heart, whether they were actual events, a movie we saw, an illustration in a book, something we read, or just pure fantasy—a compelling daydream we used to have. The brain does not differentiate these various kinds of events as different kinds of experience, either when they occur or in retrospect. They are all experience, and if we are to remember whether different events “actually” took place of were “simply imagined” we have to attach the appropriate tag to them—a tag that often seems to get lost over time.
   

The importance of these memories and stories becomes even greater as

understanding develops and children begin to seek out information regarding topics and people in which they are interested. Biographies and autobiographies introduce children to extraordinary individuals, who may be no longer living or are located in other parts of the world. These stories provide a unique opportunity to learn from distant teachers. The stories present the individual’s need for dedication, education, diverse experiences such as travel, and similar mentor roles. Distant teachers provide invaluable learning opportunities, which are otherwise inaccessible because of obvious logistical reasons. Also serving as career models, the stories allow children to begin to shape their aspirations with their current interests. With an understanding of the direction that needs to be taken to build a future creative career, they can begin to draw upon the supportive individuals who helped them in their growth as part of the communal learning process. John-Steiner states,

1. The intensity required to go beyond the known is replenished by such encounters with distant teachers. The young person is enriched by the exposure to the lively wrought works of their mentors. When claiming their experience—through their artistic effort in dealing with the richness as well as the disturbing complexity of their existence—young artists are frequently beset by anxiety. They are confronted by self-doubt. In addition to the encouragement derived from studying the lives of their artistic models, these individuals also need support from those around them, from their parents, teachers, and friends.
   

By being familiar with a wide variety of topics, young adults begin to develop strong ties to their interests. This knowledge allows them to draw upon the familiar individuals who make up their variety of role models. Using the contact section of the journal in Art and Play, children can begin to identify influential individuals who are their personal acquaintances with their topics of expertise. Just as Oldenburg and van Bruggen use their contacts to help them actually create their final artworks, this practical knowledge allows readers to contact individuals for further leads related to sources of information, such as books, educational opportunities, organizations and internet resources.