Parents' responses to a kindergarten-classroom lending-library component designed to support shared reading at home

Teachers often recommend that families engage their children in shared book reading to support literacy learning at home. When teachers purposefully provide families with home literacy activities there are benefits for everyone involved. The purpose of this article is to report the findings of a study that examined parental participation and response to a home book reading component (i.e. a classroom lending library) that took place in 32 kindergarten classrooms as part of a larger study examining the efficacy of a curriculum focused on promoting kindergartners' positive attitudes towards individuals with disabilities. Findings suggest that parents considered shared book reading to be enjoyable and beneficial for their children's language and literacy development. Additionally, parents' comments provided evidence that both they and their children learned a variety of new concepts, including those related to science and disabilities, through shared book reading. Implications for practice and ideas for future research are discussed.