and does not have a tendency to exaggerate our accomplishments. I trust her knowledge to recognize reading vs. parroting, and well...my mother has always been very honest about our abilities. Supportive and positive, always, but never dishonest. And I don't believe she would have a selective memory either. It's just not something she's prone to.

I do agree that it was likely recognition, predominantely, but my mom skipped around a lot within the book to see if I knew the words, and I also was able to tell her what they mean (like, she'd point to moon and ask me what this word was, and I would point to the picture of the moon and say the word). Obviously we're not talking about a 5th grade reading level at 18 months... But it's likely I could at least read a basic book I was familiar with at a rather young age.

Understand that your skeptical too. If my mother wasn't who she was, I wouldn't believe her at her word either! If anyone is off, it could be me. It may have been something more like two years old or two and half. I know it was before I went to preschool, which was at about three? (I was a mid-summer birthday, so all my schooling was a little "early". I'll try to get the exact age.