Reach Out and Read

Reach Out and Read is a non-profit organization that teams up with pediatrics to encourage parents to start reading with their children as early as 6 months. Here’s why…

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• Children who live in an environment rich in books and who are read to during the first years of life are much more likely to learn to read on schedule.

• Reading aloud helps stimulate language and cognitive skills as well as build motivation, curiosity, and memory.

• Reading ability and school readiness are based on language exposure - resulting from parents and other adults talking to young children.

• Research shows that the more words parents use when speaking to an 8-month-old infant, the greater the size of their child's vocabulary at age 3.

• Books contain many words that children are unlikely to encounter frequently in spoken language.

• Story-time with parents fosters a positive association with books and reading later in life.

• Reading aloud is a proven technique to help children cope during times of stress or tragedy.

• Reading difficulty contributes to school failure, which leads to discouragement and eventually school drop out

• 20% of U.S. workers are functionally illiterate.

Reach Out and Read Recommended Book List