Research Findings: This study expands on previous research (Bus & van Ijzendoorn, 1988, 1992, 1997) establishing an association between the quality of mother-child interactions and reading behavior during a joint book-reading task. In a sample of 58 mother-child pairs, the quality of the relationship between mothers and their children at 36 months old predicted the amount and quality of literacy information shared during a joint book-reading task in 1st grade. Other variables related to reading behavior were also examined but were found to be less predictive than maternal sensitive responding.