"Magic happens when a child is read to regularly"

Maybe it is the closeness.

It might be the dramatic page turns, the silly sounds or the shared anticipation that grows as a story unfolds. Perhaps it's just hearing the voice of a loving adult narrate a nursery rhyme, animal misadventure or modern-day fairy tale. Whatever the reason, literacy advocates say magic happens when a young child is read to regularly.

"I felt like they cared and they liked that I was reading," said 11-year-old Marin Billionis, of Springfield, Missouri, who was tucked between her parents. "Some of the books I read so many times, I memorized them." 

The love of reading at an early age is key to success in school and later life, research shows. Children who have not developed some basic literacy skills by the time they enter school are three to four times more likely to drop out in later years, according to a National Adult Literacy Survey. Read more in The News-Leader online.