Exploring children's responses during ‘school’ picture book reading for kindergarten-elementary school transition

The purpose of this study is to explore children’s responses during the reading process of ‘school’ picture books for kindergarten-elementary school transition. Data was collected and analyzed from 16 five-year-old children in K kindergarten located in S city, Gyeonggi-do. The research findings are as follows: First, children expressed expectations about the main character's happy and enjoyable school life, related their own experiences to the main character's experiences, and talked about the main character's limitations and difficulties. In addition to empathizing with the protagonist, they responded by presenting opinions different from those of the protagonist. Second, children showed responses that extended beyond empathy and exploration for the protagonist to cooperative relationships surrounding the protagonist. The reaction to the collaborators around the protagonist was interested in the collaborator and responded to delivering his or her story from the perspective of the collaborator. The results of this study are significant in that they focus on children's initiative in the direction and approach of linking kindergarten and primary school and present a discussion on children's independent and active participation in the linking process.