The most important setting for early literary learning is reading-aloud interactions within families. Children gather fundamental experiences with literature as a dialogic imagination with a competent partner who scaffolds the literary learning processes within a temporary supportive interpersonal framework, which can be described as a learning format. The process of experiencing literature is not only determined by reading-aloud and listening but also by multimodal activities and emotions that accompany the reading interaction. Emotions in reading-aloud therefore are more than a para-verbal way of reading or a way to gain joint attention. The performative perspective on reading-aloud formats shows different activities that help the adult and child to establish and experience their interaction as an event. This qualitative case study examines videotaped reading-aloud interactions in which adults and children create the event of reading as a shared goal. The results suggest different categories to describe performative processes and effects. The aim of the study is to discuss the idea of performative reading and present didactic conclusions with regard to the experience of literature in early reading-aloud interactions.