My Child Does More Than Sit for Virtual Read-Aloud: An Exploratory Human Pose Estimation Study

Virtual storytime programs supported young children and families when in-person library services were discontinued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. These virtual storytimes offered via videoconferencing systems allowed for the inclusion of some in-person storytime elements such as the librarian read-aloud, and children are the target audience of these picturebook read-alouds. Children's nonverbal behavior symbolizes a powerful clue as to when they are engaged with the read-aloud story. What is unclear is how a child nonverbally engages with the storytime readings. This study shows how human pose detection software, OpenPose, was instrumented with custom Python scripts to track and code a preschooler's nonverbal behavior during a virtual storytime read-aloud. Results demonstrate considerable nonverbal attentiveness and engagement by this child during the read-aloud.