How can language and literacy enhance emotional development in the very young (birth to three years)? Although all children begin to understand their world through language and social interaction, literacy differs from culture to culture. It can range from oral stories of personal and cultural relevance to songs of ethnic pride and includes a variety of ways to record language and experiences. The purpose of this article is to explain the language/literacy connection to emotional development and to focus particularly on young children's experiences with various forms of picture books. Emotional competence, however, can develop through virtually any form of literacy, whether it is a magazine, a cereal box, or an electronic story on a computer. Developing emotional competence, or the ability to control one's emotions in an age-appropriate way, hinges on the quality of children's attachment established in the first three years of life. Attachment is the strong emotional bond developed between young children and their caregivers. Children use the attachments they form as a secure base from which they explore the world. A part of the important development of attachment happens in read-aloud times, as storybook sharing becomes an occasion through which children learn language, play with ideas, and build trust and understanding. (Contains 20 resources.)