Daniel replies:

I don't know anything about parenting, never having done it, and the children I've come in contact with have understandably usually been of reading age.  (I have had a number of dogs and I sometimes read to them, but honestly I don't think the content matters.)  However, I have had a great many reports from parents of children who report that reading to and with the kiddies is very satisfactory.  I have an older sister, (now a really old sister,) who read to me throughout my childhood, and that is the reason I grew up to be a writer and person of culture instead of a boor and quasi-gangster like the rest of our family--so I think you're probably on the right track.  Say hello for me to the new person, and I hope you'll both enjoy reading time.