Familial beliefs and abilities play a crucial role in shaping the dynamics of shared book reading between caregivers and their young children. The variations in caregiver-shared book reading behaviors significantly impact what and how much a child learns from those experiences. Thus, understanding caregiver beliefs through a strength-based lens is essential to inform the development of resources, recommendations, and interventions that prioritize familial perspectives. This approach is crucial for promoting children–s development, especially in vulnerable communities like migratory families and families experiencing homelessness. Therefore, this qualitative study in the U.S. state of Florida adopted a strengthsbased approach to explore the shared book reading perspectives, practices, and strengths in migratory and unhoused families. Through interviews with 13 caregivers (6 migratory caregivers and 7 unhoused caregivers), a phenomenological analysis revealed key themes of Shared Book Reading as Protection, Shared Book Reading as a Bridge, Reading to Teach, Making Reading Interesting, and Following the Child–s Lead. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the themes can serve as a foundation for the development of future shared book reading resources and interventions in collaboration with migratory and unhoused families, promoting inclusivity and effectiveness by aligning resource development with their unique perspectives and strengths.
American Psychiatric Association, DSM-5 Task Force. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5™ (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
2.
ArzubiagaA. E.NoguerónS. C.SullivanA. L. (2009). The education of children in im/migrant families. Review of Research in Education, 33(1), 246–271. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X08328243
3.
BojczykK. E.DavisA. E.RanaV. (2016). Mother–child interaction quality in shared book reading: Relation to child vocabulary and readiness to read. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36, 404–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2016.01.006
4.
BoudreauD. (2005). Use of a parent questionnaire in emergent and early literacy assessment of preschool children. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36(1), 33–47. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2005/004)
5.
BoyceL. K.InnocentiM. S.RoggmanL. A.Jump NormanV. K.OrtizE. (2010). Telling stories and making books: Evidence for an intervention to help parents in migrant head start families support their children’s language and literacy. Early Education and Development, 21(3), 343–371. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409281003631142
6.
BusA. G.Van IjzendoornM. H.PellegriniA. D. (1995). Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: A meta-analysis on intergenerational transmission of literacy. Review of Educational Research, 65(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.2307/1170476
7.
CabreraN. J.HennigarA.Yumiseva-LackenbacherM.GalindoC. (2019). Young Latinx children: At the intersections of race and socioeconomic status. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 57, 65–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acdb.2019.05.003
8.
CurentonS. M.JusticeL. M. (2008). Children’s preliteracy skills: Influence of mothers’ education and beliefs about shared-reading interactions. Early Education & Development, 19(2), 261–283. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409280801963939
9.
DeBarysheB. D.BinderJ. C. (1994). Development of an instrument for measuring parental beliefs about reading aloud to young children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 78(3), 1303–1311. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1994.78.3c.1303
10.
D’SaS.FoleyD.HannonJ.StrashunS.MurphyA.-M.O’GormanC. (2021). The psychological impact of childhood homelessness—A literature review. Irish Journal of Medical Science-1971, 190(1), 411–417. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-020-02256-w
11.
FentonA.WalshK.WongS.CummingT. (2015). Using strengths-based approaches in early years practice and research. International Journal of Early Childhood, 47(1), 27–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-014-0115-8
12.
FlackZ. M.FieldA. P.HorstJ. S. (2018). The effects of shared storybook reading on word learning: A meta-analysis. Developmental Psychology, 54(7), 1334–1346. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000512
13.
FogartyW.LovellM.LangenbergJ.HeronM. J. (2018). Deficit discourse and strengths-based approaches: Changing the narrative of aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. Lowitja Institute.
14.
GarciaD. C.HassonD. J. (2004). Implementing family literacy programs for linguistically and culturally diverse populations: Key elements to consider. School Community Journal, 14(1), 113–137.
15.
GiorgiA. (1985). Phenomenology and psychological research. Duquesne University Press.
16.
GonzalezJ. E.AcostaS.DavisH.Pollard-DurodolaS.SaenzL.SoaresD.ResendezN.ZhuL. (2017). Latino maternal literacy beliefs and practices mediating socioeconomic status and maternal education effects in predicting child receptive vocabulary. Early Education and Development, 28(1), 78–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2016.1185885
Housing Assistance Council. (2013). Housing conditions for farmworkers [Rural research report].
19.
LeechN. L.OnwuegbuzieA. J. (2007). An array of qualitative data analysis tools: A call for data analysis triangulation. School Psychology Quarterly, 22(4), 557–584. https://doi.org/10.1037/1045-3830.22.4.557
20.
Lemus-WayM. C.JohanssonH. (2020). Strengths and resilience of migrant women in transit: An analysis of the narratives of Central American women in irregular transit through Mexico towards the USA. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 21(3), 745–763. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-019-00690-z
21.
LincolnY. S.GubaE. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.
22.
LoniganC. J.AnthonyJ. L.BloomfieldB. G.DyerS. M.SamwelC. S. (1999). Effects of two shared-reading interventions on emergent literacy skills of at-risk preschoolers. Journal of Early Intervention, 22(4), 306–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/105381519902200406
ManzP. H.HughesC.BarnabasE.BracalielloC.Ginsburg-BlockM. (2010). A descriptive review and meta-analysis of family-based emergent literacy interventions: To what extent is the research applicable to low-income, ethnic-minority or linguistically-diverse young children?Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25(4), 409–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2010.03.002
MortonM.DworskyA.SamuelsG. M.PatelS. (2018). Voices of youth count comprehensive report: Youth homelessness in America. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3615864
NobleC. H.Cameron-FaulknerT.LievenE. (2018). Keeping it simple: The grammatical properties of shared book reading. Journal of Child Language, 45(3), 753–766. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000917000447
31.
NobleC. H.SalaG.PeterM.LingwoodJ.RowlandC.GobetF.PineJ. (2019). The impact of shared book reading on children’s language skills: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 28, 100290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2019.100290
ParkS. (2024). Reframing deficit narratives to honor the community cultural wealth of immigrant families of children with disabilities. Journal of Family Diversity in Education, 6(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.53956/jfde.2024.186
36.
PerryN. J.KayS. M.BrownA. (2008). Continuity and change in home literacy practices of Hispanic families with preschool children. Early Child Development and Care, 178(1), 99–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430701482191
37.
RawanaE.BrownleeK. (2009). Making the possible probable: A strength-based assessment and intervention framework for clinical work with parents, children, and adolescents. Families in Society, 90(3), 255–260. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.3900
38.
RobertsJ.JergensJ.BurchinalM. (2005). The role of home literacy practices in preschool children’s language and emergent literacy skills. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48(2), 345–359. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2005/024)
39.
RochmanH. (1993). Against borders: Promoting books for a multicultural world. American Library Association.
SénéchalM. (1997). The differential effect of storybook reading on preschoolers’ acquisition of expressive and receptive vocabulary. Journal of Child Language, 24(1), 123–138. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000996003005
42.
SénéchalM.YoungL. (2008). The effect of family literacy interventions on children’s acquisition of reading from kindergarten to grade 3: A meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research, 78(4), 880–907. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308320319
43.
ThrasherS. P.MowbrayC. T. (1995). A strengths perspective: An ethnographic study of homeless women with children. Health & Social Work, 20(2), 93–101. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/20.2.93
WaiteK. R.FedermanA. D.McCarthyD. M.SudoreR.CurtisL. M.BakerD. W.WilsonE. A. H.Hasnain-WyniaR.WolfM. S.Paasche-OrlowM. K. (2013). Literacy and race as risk factors for low rates of advance directives in older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 61(3), 403–406. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.12134
48.
WhitehurstG. J.FalcoF. L.LoniganC. J.FischelJ. E.DeBarysheB. D.Valdez-MenchacaM. C.CaulfieldM. (1988). Accelerating language development through picture book reading. Developmental Psychology, 24(4), 552–559. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.24.4.552
49.
ZuckerT. A.CabellS. Q.JusticeL. M.PentimontiJ. M.KaderavekJ. N. (2013). The role of frequent, interactive prekindergarten shared reading in the longitudinal development of language and literacy skills. Developmental Psychology, 49(8), 1425–1439. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030347
