AUTHOR=Galea Claire , Jones Alana , Ko Katherine , Salins Andrea , Robidoux Serje , Noble Clayton , McArthur Genevieve 

TITLE=Home-based shared book reading and developmental outcomes in young children: a systematic review with meta-analyses

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Language Sciences

VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/language-sciences/articles/10.3389/flang.2025.1540562

DOI=10.3389/flang.2025.1540562

ISSN=2813-4605

ABSTRACT=The aim of this systematic review was to measure the strength of the relationship between home-based shared book reading and child development. We identified 46 studies (N = 56,576) that provided quantitative data on the home literacy environment and developmental outcomes for groups of 10 or more children (maximum N = 10,533) who had a mean age of <4 years, and had not commenced compulsory, formal schooling. Most studies (n = 28/46; 61%, N = 24,859) reported correlation coefficients, which were used to calculate mean effect sizes in a series of meta-analyses. The results estimated large and statistically significant relationships between home-based shared book reading and developmental outcomes [r = 0.303, 95% CI = (0.258, 0.349)], language outcomes [r = 0.381, 95% CI = (0.289, 0.474)], and vocabulary outcomes [r = 0.314, 95% CI = (0.291, 0.336)]; as well as a moderate and significant relationship between frequency of home-based shared book reading and expressive vocabulary [r = 0.259, 95% CI = (0.099, 0.419)]. These findings indicate that home-based shared book reading is positively related to various developmental outcomes, particularly spoken language skills.