The review, published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, found young children whose parents read aloud to them not only had better language and literary skills in school, but developed a love of reading.

The study authors say the style of reading has more impact on child development than the frequency of reading aloud. Also a more interactive style -- making connections to the child's own experience or real world, explaining new words and the motivations of the characters was better than just labeling and describing pictures -- can improve the development of language and literacy-related skills.

All of the study authors are connected to The Reach Out and Read program founded in 1989 at Boston City Hospital. Inner city parents involved in Reach Out and Read programs -- where child health clinicians give books to their young patients and stress the importance of reading to the parents -- were four times as likely to report looking at books together as a favorite activity.