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Interactive book reading is an active practice that aims to stimulate children's language and literacy development. The interactions that take place during book reading are essential to understand; however, there is limited research on the practice of interactive book reading within refugee families. This qualitative study utilized observation and focus group data to capture the interactions taking place between six refugee mothers and their preschool aged children (3-5 years). The two broad aims of the study were first, to explore interactive book reading experiences of refugee mother-child dyads with the goal of understanding the strategies mothers used during book reading. The second aim was to identify how dual language books benefited families during and beyond interactive book reading. Results demonstrated that mothers incorporated multiple interactive reading strategies while navigating interesting language dynamics. Findings further highlighted the need for continued research on the reading practices of refugee families with preschool-aged children to develop culturally relevant literacy programming and support for these families.

The process of guiding young children to learn to read and write may hold unique challenges for refugee families who are transitioning to a new culture and a new language, yet areas of strength and resourcefulness may lead to successful literacy readiness for these young learners. This qualitative descriptive study examined refugee mothers' (N=9) literacy practices with their preschool aged children (3-5 years). The study goals were first, to explore the literacy practices among refugee families and their children, and secondly, to understand how these families navigated their new environments as they prepared their young children for school. Qualitative data collected via interviews indicated that the literacy practices of families varied and were mainly focused on storytelling and writing activities. The findings also suggested that mothers face challenges in promoting literacy due to lack of literacy resources. However, all the mothers highlighted that learning to read, write, and speak English were top priorities for their young children before starting school. Implications on effective strategies for supporting literacy development among refugee families with young children are discussed.