Children's observation of the given-new contract was tested with a task requiring children to provide novel, rather than known, information about an event to a listener. Study 1 revealed developmental differences in children's adherence to the contract: 4- and 5-year-olds showed better adherence to the contract than 3-year-olds. In Studies 2 and 3, language competence and the ability to track others' experiences emerged as significant independent predictors of children's adherence to the given-new contract. Together, the findings suggest that adherence to the given-new contract is a complex skill related to several foundational abilities that undergo significant development during the preschool period. (Contains 7 tables and 3 footnotes.)