Research provides evidence that fathers can promote the development of their children's literacy skills, including reading books to them that are appropriate, engaging their children in discussions about books they read, recording in a notebook the books the children have read and encouraging their children to read more books. This review presents…

The development of phonological awareness (PA) before school age was modeled in association with the development of vocabulary and letter knowledge, home literacy environment (HLE), children's reading interest, and beginning reading skill in children with and without familial risk of dyslexia. A total of 186 children were followed from birth to…

Reviews research findings concerning the recreational reading habits of students in colleges of further education. (FL)

This report reviews the research on text-based interest, defined as those elements within texts that create interest for the majority of readers. Three issues are covered: (1) what kinds of information are considered interesting, both theoretically and empirically; (2) what effects popular strategies for creating interest have on learning…

Reports the results of a longitudinal study that associated reading achievement with volume of reading and the selection of a book with its content, appearance, and its popularity with the reader's friends. (AEA)

Compares the uses of multiple regression, the Automatic Interaction Detector (AID) multivariate program, and cross-tabular analysis in identifying variables associated with newspaper readership. (RL)

Examines attentional demands and recall among undergraduates for stories that differ in rated interest. Results reveal that more interesting stories required fewer attentional resources for comprehension than did less interesting stories. Overall recall did not differ across story interest, but story interest did interact with type of encoding in…

Discusses research related to the relationship between interest in reading materials and reading achievement. (FL)

Noting that the technological revolution in book production has led to more effective means of distribution and increased the number and variety of reading materials available in the world, this report examines several issues connected with the international circulation of books. Following a brief introduction to the subject, the various sections…

Library historians and historians of literacy have been more creative than journalism historians in using individual-level historical data such as deeds, wills, depositions, surveys, and census figures to study reading behaviors of the past. For example, the series of family cost of living surveys conducted in the United States by state and…

Discusses two research questions that literature teachers must continually answer--their students' reading interests and how well their students read a text. Shows how research has both complicated and clarified these questions. (RL)

Noting that modern technology is challenging both the form and the function of the book and its role as the principal instrument for transmitting accumulated knowledge and ideas, this report examines the ways in which technological innovation is modifying the role and function of reading in industralized societies and how readers are integrating…

Discusses the role of readers' advisors in public libraries based on readers' responses to open-ended, qualitative interviews on reading for pleasure. Topics discussed include how books help people, how readers choose books, what they like and dislike about fiction collections in libraries, and how libraries and librarians can be more helpful to…

A measure was developed to assess kindergarten children's interest in reading, and information about their home and school environments was collected. High-reading-interest children were read to more frequently, watched less television, and had more books at home. School factors are also discussed. (Author/PP)

Provides limited support for the use of newspapers in school. Concludes that the Newspaper in Education (NIE) program does not necessarily increase newspaper readership in adult life. (RL)