Before children learn to read, they develop their skills to construct a
coherent representation of a story. However, many preschool-age children
have difficulties related to early story comprehension that put them at
risk for later motivational and reading comprehension challenges.
Optimal scaffolding of story comprehension targets specific skills and
combines cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational support. In this
chapter, we first describe research on the development and scaffolding
of children’s story comprehension. Second, we explore Bunny Stories and
7-Minutes-to-Stories as examples of dialogic reading interventions to
support young children’s story comprehension in early education and home
settings. Principles and practices of these interventions are provided
to be applied while early educators or parents read any children’s book
to support story comprehension. The focus is on adults’ sensitivity,
flexibility, and responsibility, as well as children’s active
participation in grasping the meaning of a story. Successes and
challenges are described highlighting the importance of high-quality
adult–child interactions in the development of children’s early skills
and attitudes toward literacy.