| The purpose of this descriptive study was to document the influence of a book loan program on Latino preschool children's home book reading practices and to examine the role of the loan program in facilitating collaborations between the home, school, and community during the first year of its operation in an inner city preschool. In addition, this study examined the influence of book characteristics, including the genre of the book, the language of the text, and familiarity (classroom accessibility) on preschool children's book choices, and also explored the characteristics of children's favorite books.;Data was collected through both qualitative and quantitative methods, including parent and staff interviews, participant observation, parent surveys, book reading logs, and a seven-month period of library circulation records. The results indicated that the participating families valued the opportunities for convenient book access and perceived the loan program as a vehicle for facilitating their children's language and literacy development. Although some participating families had limited opportunities for accessing books in their homes, the occurrences of home reading practices were abundant and the participating parents presented diverse styles of reading engagement.;Regarding children's book choices, the participating children preferred alphabet/number books and modern fantasy to realistic fiction, traditional fantasy, and informational books. The results also revealed that children tended to choose books that were written in their primary language and select books with which they were familiar. Furthermore, the characteristics of children's favorite books indicated that a significant gap existed between children's book preferences, and parents' knowledge base and perceptions. This result demonstrated that given the choices, children tended to make independent book choice decisions, rather than going with consumer product tie-ins, and books related to this.;The findings of this study suggest that the role of pedagogy in delivering family book-reading programs should incorporate a respectful, supportive, and encouraging approach. In addition, the design of a family reading intervention program needs to catch up to the changing family dynamics to ensure the program's success. |
