How can something as simple as reading to a child be so effective?

We read to children for all the same reasons we talk with children: to reassure, to entertain, to bond; to inform or explain, to arouse curiosity, to inspire. But in reading aloud, we also:

• Condition the child's brain to associate reading with pleasure
• Create background knowledge
• Build vocabulary
• Provide a reading role model

from The Read-Aloud Handbook