Preschool teachers' reference to theory of mind topics in three storybook contexts: Reading, reconstruction and telling

•We explored teachers' mental-state discourse with preschoolers.•Three storybook contexts were compared: reading, reconstruction and telling.•Mental-state discourse appeared more during telling and reconstruction.•Teachers should integrate all three interactions in their pedagogical practice.•Teachers can use books to promote children's ToM.

The study investigated preschool teachers' references to Theory of Mind (ToM) topics in three storybook contexts: reading, reconstruction, and telling. One hundred teachers introduced and discussed three picture books with groups of five children. The findings indicate that teachers used more mental-state utterances, especially cognitive mental states, during telling compared to the two other contexts, and more during reconstruction than during reading. They referred to false belief more during reconstruction and telling than during reading. The findings can assist in guiding teachers how to read and tell stories with children while integrating ToM topics.