What are the benefits of owning books from a young age?
Research has shown that young children who own books get ahead, even after controlling for things like parents’ education level and income. For example:
Children who receive books to own have stronger early literacy skills than their peers
A meta-analysis of 44 studies on “book gifting” programmes found that children who received books to own before age 2 had better vocabulary and early literacy skills, before and during the early years of school.
These programmes also increased children’s interest in reading and parent-child book sharing, and improved the home learning environment.
Programmes with demonstrations, information sessions or multiple personal contacts with caregivers were more effective. (de Bondt et al 2020)
“In comparison with [more expensive] family literacy programs, the effects of book giveaway programs on literacy skills are impressive. … From a cost-utility perspective, book giveaway programs seem to be a valuable investment.” – de Bondt et al 2020
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A 2020 meta-analysis by de Bondt et al. examined book gifting programmes’ impact on the home learning environment and on children’s literacy-related behaviour and skills.
It drew on 44 eligible studies of three early book gifting programmes, mainly from the United States and the United Kingdom:
- In Reach Out to Read (18 studies), paediatricians and nurse practitioners gave away up to 10 books at well-child visits before the age of 5, mainly to low-income families. They also explained the importance of shared book-reading for cognitive development.
- In Bookstart (11 studies), community health workers or librarians gave away 1-2 books and a flyer about shared reading to parents of infants.
- In Imagination Library (15 studies), children received up to 60 books: one book per month by mail until age 5.
To be included, articles had to compare participating families with a control group that did not receive the programme; and provide enough data to calculate effect sizes (using Cohen’s d, a standardised way to measure the difference between two groups).
20 of the studies reported results related to children’s literacy skills. Overall, they found that book giveaway programmes had a statistically significant effect on children’s literacy skills (d=0.25).
Children who received books were also more interested in reading (d=0.38), read with their parents more frequently (d=0.36), and had an improved home learning environment (d=0.31).
Programmes that demonstrated shared book reading, provided an information session or included multiple personal contacts with caregivers were more effective at improving children’s literacy skills.
Children with even one book are more school-ready than their bookless peers.
Across 35 mainly lower- and middle-income countries, preschool children with at least one children’s book at home were twice as likely to be on track in foundational literacy and numeracy than children without any books. This was true after adjusting for household wealth, urban/rural settings, mother’s education level and child’s age. (Manu et al 2019)
“Making children’s books available to children is a cheap and feasible intervention that could change home dynamics to improve the future economic fortunes of children, especially in the poorest countries.” – Manu et al 2019
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A 2019 paper by Manu et al. found that across 35 mainly lower- and middle-income countries, preschool children with at least one children’s book at home were twice as likely to be on track in foundational literacy and numeracy than children without any books.
How do we know? The research team used the UNICEF multiple-indicator cluster survey to look at the relationship between book ownership and school readiness.
The survey included data from 100,012 three- and four-year-old children from 35 countries. 32 of these were lower- and middle-income countries, and 11 were from sub-Saharan Africa.
The survey asked caregivers about the number of children’s books at home and assessed children’s literacy and numeracy skills.
Children were “on track” if they met two of three criteria (adjusted for age): could they identify or name at least 10 letters; recognise and name all numbers from 1-10; and read at least four simple, popular words?
Only 51.8% of children from the survey had at least one children’s book at home, and only a third were on track for foundational literacy and numeracy.
But the children with at least one book at home – even just one! – were twice as likely to be on track, even when adjusted for household wealth, urban/rural settings, mother’s education level and child’s age in months.
Children with many books at home complete more years of school.
Across 27 countries, including South Africa during apartheid, children who grew up in homes with many books completed three more years of school than children from homes without books, even after controlling for parents’ education, occupation and class.The impact was greatest for children whose parents had the least education. And in homes with few books, each additional book led to more benefit. (Evans et al 2010)
“Regardless of how many books the family already has, each addition to a home library helps the children get a little farther in school. But the gains…are larger at the bottom…in getting children from modest families a little further along in the first few years of school. Moreover, having books in the home has a greater impact on children from the least educated families.” – Evans et al 2010
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A 2010 study by Evans et al used high-quality, nationally-representative samples from the long-running World Inequality Study to estimate the impact of home library size on educational attainment (how many years of school a person completed).
The research team used data from 73,349 adults in 27 countries over six decades, who were asked to recall their home library size at age 14. They hypothesized that the number of books at home is a good proxy for “scholarly culture”, a way of life in homes where books are “numerous, esteemed, read and enjoyed” that supports literacy development and educational success.
They estimated the effect of the number of books at home on educational attainment, using controls for parents’ education level, class and occupation.
The study found that:
- Children growing up in a home with many books (500 or more) complete 3.2 more years of school than children with no books or few books, even after controlling for factors that give children an educational advantage (including gender; parents’ education levels; father’s occupation and class; and national GDP during childhood).
- Growing up in a home full of books was as beneficial as having university-educated rather than unskilled parents, and twice as beneficial as having a professional rather than an unskilled father.
- For Black South Africans under apartheid, the effect was even larger: a child in a home with 500 books was expected to complete 4 more years of school than a child with just 1 book at home.
- This trend was consistent in all 27 countries; under capitalism, communism and apartheid; and from the 1940s to the 1990s.
The study also found that while a large home library is particularly powerful, even a few books make a difference. In homes where parents have little to no formal education, children with just 25 books complete two more years of school on average than children with no books at home. And in homes with few books, each additional book leads to more schooling.
Children with many books at home have stronger skills and better jobs in adulthood.
Across 31 countries, children from book-rich homes had stronger literacy, numeracy and IT skills in adulthood, and accessed better-paying and more prestigious jobs. This was true after controlling for parents’ education, own educational attainment or own occupation. The effect was strongest for disadvantaged children. (Sikora et al 2018)
Why do books in homes improve early and lifelong educational outcomes?
When books are present in homes, it enables and encourages reading and book sharing (looking at and talking about books in an open-ended, playful and child-led way). And sharing books with young children, starting from birth, is one of the most effective ways to set them up for lifelong success.
A synthesis of research shows that book sharing with preschool children:
- Promotes verbal interaction with adults, which builds oral language development.
- Improves children’s vocabulary, including both receptive language (understanding what other people say) and expressive language (using words to convey meaning).
- Improves children’s ability to manage their attention, which supports later learning.
- Gives children opportunities to build general knowledge and learn about their world.
Helps children develop secure attachments to caregivers, which supports their later happiness, social competence and ability to form meaningful connections.
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Book sharing is even more impactful than just talking or playing! This is because books:
- have more diverse vocabulary and complex language;
- encourage caregivers to use more words per minute;
- promote the responsive “serve-and-return” interactions that build neural connections and communication skills;
- increase talk about characters’ feelings and behaviours, which builds emotional intelligence.
It sounds like a no-brainer, but when books are present in homes, parents are able to share books with children, and are more likely to do so. In South Africa, books at home are a stronger predictor of reading with children than education level, differences in household income (below ~$1500 per month), gender, number of children in the home, or whether the adult was read to when they were a child. (National Reading Survey 2023)
How do we know that giving children books leads to more reading? Don’t people need training and support to use books?
Books work best when paired with some support: literacy skills improved more in book gifting programmes that included either demonstration, information sessions or multiple personal contacts with caregivers (de Bondt et al 2020). However, while some encouragement is beneficial, even light-touch support can go a long way. And when books and book-sharing are introduced in a community, even people who don’t receive books directly can benefit from a “spillover effect.”
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A randomised controlled trial in Kenya compared (a) just books, (b) books plus a once-off workshop, and (c) books plus a more intensive intervention. It found that:
- While a once-off workshop improved book-sharing quality and child vocabulary, more intensive interventions did not further increase quantity or quality of caregiver-child book sharing.
- All groups, including the books-only group, saw more reading and better child comprehension. (Knauer et al 2020)
In the South African Yizani Sifunde project, where each child received ~25 books, caregivers read with children more often whether or not they attended parent workshops. Other positive parenting practices, like drawing or storytelling, increased more among adults who attended workshops. This suggests that books in homes can shift behaviour, even without additional support.
In India, a randomised controlled trial that provided books and book-sharing training found that children in homes that did not receive books or book-sharing training, but lived within 100 metres of families who did, also had a significant increase in child development (using a combined score of language, socio-emotional and motor skills). (Ebert et al 2024). This suggests that introducing books to book-poor communities can start to change culture and social norms for all.
In South Africa, Book Dash works through partners across the country who work directly with children and families. This helps boost book sharing and reading – but interventions do not need to be extensive to start shifting family reading habits. Giving children books to own is a cost-effective intervention that is proven to spark more reading.
How exactly do books change behaviour?
In South Africa:
- 93% of adults agree that reading to children before they can talk helps them learn; but
- Only 32% of parents actually read with children aged 6 and under.
Why? Just like other behaviours that are good for us, like eating well or exercising, there’s a gap between awareness and action. Even when parents know it’s important to share books with preverbal children, they need an incentive or “nudge” to actually do it.Physical books at home can provide that nudge, in a way digital books or books at school cannot. That’s why Book Dash is working hard to increase book ownership in homes.
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When even a few picture books are present in a home:
- A busy parent can make a fast and automatic decision to read, despite the time constraints and pressures they face.
- A child can ask a parent to read to them.
- If it’s enjoyable, both children and adults are likely to do it again.
Research shows that it works: parents who receive free books read with their children more often, and are more likely to say reading books is a favourite activity. (Klass et al 2009)
In the Eastern Cape in South Africa, researchers observed a “nudge” effect and a “joy and pride” effect that interacted to increase book sharing in preschool children’s homes. Children who received books enthusiastically pressured parents to read with them (the “nudge”), and parents were impressed with their children’s ability to understand, remember and narrate stories (“joy and pride”) – which led them to read together more often.