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Mother and daughter reading together.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, reading aloud to your children and talking about pictures and words in age-appropriate books can strengthen language skills, literacy development, and parent-child relationships.
What's more, a study conducted this year by a number of pediatricians shows for the first time the biological effect reading to your kids has on their brains.
MRIs revealed children with greater home-reading exposure had greater activity in the parts of the brain that help with mental imagery and narrative comprehension.
So what are the best books to read to your kids?
As part of their Storybook Project, NPR asked a number of authors, actors, politicians, philanthropists, scientists, and musicians to reveal their five all-time favorite books they've read to their kids, and the list so far makes a great jumping off point for any parent priming their kids for success.
Check out the sampling below, and head to NPR's ongoing Storybook Project for more parents and why they chose their favorite books.