Concentrating on hearing reading rather than parents reading to children, this literature review examines research into parents' participation in their children's literacy development with the aim of providing information to assist school practice. The review focuses on attention to British studies involving systematic analysis of carefully gathered evidence, published in refereed journals. The review states two general points: there is good evidence that it is a widespread practice for parents to coach their children in reading by listening to them read during their elementary school education; and that parents may differ considerably in their responsiveness to invitations from school to take part in reading programs. The bulk of the review offers discussion of studies of behavior training, the "Pause, Prompt, Praise" (PPP) approach, Paired Reading, and "Parent Listening" schemes. The numerous conclusions of the review include: (1) behavioral, PPP, and Paired Reading research demonstrates that special purpose, short-term programs of 10 weeks or less with a clear specification of objectives and procedures and careful attention to parent instruction and training can bring about considerable growth in below average readers' reading competence; (2) studies focusing on poor readers are more likely to be successful; and (3) Paired Reading has some obvious advantages over the behavioral and PPP approaches. (Two figures and two tables of data are included; 107 references are attached.) (RS)