چکیده (انگلیسی):

The purpose of the study was to evaluate some of the books which under-five children (0 -5 years old) in
Nigeria are exposed to with the view to improving literacy level of children from early years through reading.
Literacy is concomitant with human development, influencing every aspect of life. It should therefore be
given adequate attention starting from the early years of children before it becomes difficult to inculcate.
Books as a leverage to literacy development should therefore possess certain qualities to bring about the
desired end (functional literacy) in children. The findings revealed that foreign-based books are the
prominent ones available for children, which invariably reflected in the presentation of some conceptsthat
are not familiar or that are culturally irrelevant to children’s environment. It is also showed that some genres
(drama) are non-existent. Recommendations were given towards what will aid the development of functional
literacy in children early in life through what maybe regarded as good books.