Why 500 Books?
Evans and her colleagues reported in a journal article in 2010
that having 500 books at home is equivalent to three years extra
formal education. They state that:
Children growing up in homes with many books get 3 years
more schooling than children from bookless homes,
independent of their parents’ education, occupation, and class.
……………This is as great an advantage as having university
educated rather than unschooled parents, and twice the
advantage of having a professional rather than an unskilled
father (p171).
They concluded that this finding was independent of parents’
education, occupation, and class. This reinforces research
reported by Maryanne Wolfe who found that by the age of five
children from language rich family backgrounds will have heard
on average 32 million more words than children from language
impoverished backgrounds. Reading 500 books to children early
in their school careers will ensure they are well on their way to
benefitting from their rich and imaginative
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