Understanding a story is an active process, whether children have listened to it being read aloud or, when they are older and read it for themselves. When children grasp a story, they (1) attend to what is important; (2) anticipate what is to come; and (3) build meaningful patterns from the many details. These active interactions with a story can be called "habits of the mind." They involve both a disposition to engage with a story and the mental skills needed to make sense of its meaning. Like many dispositions and skills, reading for understanding grows stronger when it is regularly exercised. When used intentionally, story time can build habits of the mind that help young children interact with texts in active and purposeful ways. In particular, story time is a natural context for alerting children to story structure, using graphic organizers, and asking skillful questions. This article will discuss how these three strategies can build in children some habits of the mind needed to understand stories that they hear, and that they will soon read for themselves. (Contains 4 figures.)