At times, if I see a good book I buy it for them anyway. The boys now have shelves of good reading material and books that stretch the imagination. Some titles that they love are, The Lamb and the Butterfly, The Jungle Baseball Game and Mother Goose. Statistics indicate that children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read aloud to every day. In my opinion, there is no excuse for this.
Libraries are full of great books that cost nothing as long as they are returned on time.
Statistics also indicate that children in two parent families are more likely to be read aloud to each day. Again, there is no excuse for a parent not taking time to read to their children. I was a single parent and worked twelve to sixteen hours a day. I made time to read to my daughter when she was growing up. Something else was set aside if necessary.