Conclusions
neurocognitive and socio-emotional differences
In children aged 3.5 years in a LMIC country setting, dialogic book-sharing did not improve language proficiency (receptive and expressive language), or neurocognitive and socio-emotional gains at 4 months post-intervention. Possible reasons for these findings include that there may be a critical period in which to implement book-sharing interventions to produce noticeable neurocognitive and socio-emotional differences. The findings suggest the importance of early intervention and emphasizes the need for further research on adaptation of book-sharing for older participants in a South African context.