This paper presents an informal account of two studies concerned with the significant positive effect which students reading to a parent or other adult has on the students' reading performance. The paper describes the first study, conducted between 1975/76 and 1978/79 in London, in which over 2000 multiracial, working class children took books home and read aloud to an adult. Results indicated a significant gain in reading performance and sustained parental interest in the program. The paper also reports on a replication (with slight alteration) of the study involving 90 students in an elementary school in British Columbia. Results indicated that the experimental group recorded a greater gain in total reading achievement than the control group. The paper emphasizes that parental support for the program was also evident. (RS)