How should I converse with my child about characters in books?

This can be done with any level reader!  
1.  Choose a book to read.
2.  Read the book (it could be a picture book, chapter book, read aloud, or a book you each read silently.
3.  Now converse with your child about the characters in the book.  See below for some ideas for questions to ask your child.

Did you like _(insert character's name here)_ in the book?  If he/she was in your class at school do you think you'd be friends with him/her?  What do you think it would be like to have _(character)_ as a brother/sister/aunt/uncle/parent/neighbor/etc.?  Why do you think he/she acted like that (name a particular event in the book).  If _(character)_ was cheering you on during a soccer game, what do you suppose he/she would say?

Ask the same questions about another character in the book. 

Okay, you get the idea - make the characters come out of the books!  Talk with your child and begin to help them understand HOW to relate to characters, books, themes, ideas, etc.  In turn, they will begin to better understand the kinds of people they are most challenged by, who they most like to hang out with and why, how they like spending their time. This is the stuff that good literature is made of!  This is what we, as adults, get excited to talk about when we read books.  Kids need to learn this, they are (generally) not born with this intuition!

What are you waiting for!?  Go make some literary friends!