Drawing on data associated with an investigation of classroom read alouds and discussions of children's literature, this article conceptualizes the reading aloud and discussions of picturebooks as an "interpretive space" for elementary grade students' exploration of visual images and written text. Analyzing the types of responses students generated during discussions of three picturebooks, the study revealed the dominance of literal responses in comparison with interpretive responses in the classrooms studied. Further analysis showed that time spent reading and discussing picturebooks, varying the ways the books were presented, and the types of questions asked by the classroom teacher affected the types of responses offered by the students.