Why do children want the same picture book read to them over and over?

In our house, the same picture book appears again and again.

I read it yesterday.
I read it the day before yesterday.
I probably read it the day before that, too.

As for me, I already know the content by heart.
I know what happens next before I even turn the page.
In fact, it's already falling apart and patched up with tape.

Somehow,
I'm Nao, and I've ended up reading more picture books than regular books.
The size of the text in picture books is a blessing for my presbyopia.

Adults are always looking for something new.

New information.
New stimulation.
New answers.

When you open your smartphone, new things flow by one after another.
We get bored immediately with anything we've even seen once.

But children are different.

They bring the same picture book.
They laugh at the same page.
They point at the same scene.
They look at my face at the same part.

What is 'this again?' for an adult might be 'this is the one' for a child.

From a parenting perspective, it seems there is meaning in reading the same picture book over and over.

By listening repeatedly, they learn words.
By looking repeatedly, they learn the pictures.
By following the same sequence repeatedly, they learn to predict what will happen next.

And by having that prediction come true, they become able to trust the world a little more.

In other words, the same story is not boring for a child.

By reading repeatedly, it seems children learn words, sounds, sequences, pictures, and a sense of security.

When I turn this page, that picture appears.
After these words, that scene comes.
Here, Dad makes a funny voice.

The world moves exactly as it did yesterday.

Perhaps they are confirming that.
Though I don't know for sure.

Of course, I think new picture books are important too.

New words.
New pictures.
New worlds.

By engaging with such things, the drawers within a child's mind continue to grow.

We adults tend to think in terms of efficiency.

I've already read that.
I want you to go to sleep soon.
If possible, I'd like you to pick a shorter one.

Especially at night or during nap time, a parent's true feelings tend to seep through.

But the child simply holds out the picture book.

Read it.

One more time.

One more time.

They beg with their lisping, childish voice.

Perhaps the child isn't just listening to the continuation of the story.

They are confirming that the same parent as yesterday is here again today.
When I think of it that way, the time spent reading the same picture book over and over starts to look a little more precious.