As I began researching different statistics on early childhood development and the importance of reading to your children, what I found was honestly staggering. If you Google “early childhood reading statistics” you will find multiple articles on how reading to children daily affects their brain. Not only the development and the ability to be a proficient reader, but the actual size of the brain as well. I read a blog post from the Literacy Project based out of California and some of the stats they listed were mind blowing. I have posted the link to their post at the bottom of this page because within their article are outside links to even more sources of information if you really want to go down a rabbit hole like I did!

“1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read.” Let that sink in. Having the ability to read is something I take for granted. I remember my mom reading to me before bed and I remember the joy I felt when I could read a book front to back all by myself. The ability to read changes things; no matter where you live or what your circumstances, reading can transport you to a completely different place. We all remember the movie Matilda, right? I loved how much Matilda loved books and when Miss Honey did a bedtime story at the end of the movie, that’s when I decided I needed to read Moby Dick by Charles Dickens…still working on finishing that one—ha! My point is what a privilege to have books and resources at my disposal and adults in my life that thought it was important enough to read to me. As I write this, I am having flashbacks to my grandpa reading to me and how he would change his voice for different characters. His voice and especially his laugh were infectious. My grandparents had these oversized children’s books that to me held some sort of magic. I realize now the magic was in the moments spent together entranced between the pages. Though, those books are still special to me which is why they are now on display in my children’s playroom.

I can’t imagine if I hadn’t had books in our house growing up. The Literacy Project also mentioned that “on average, children in economically depressed communities have 0-2 age-appropriate books in their homes.” I just dropped off 7 children’s books to our neighborhood little free library and didn’t even bat an eye. It won’t impact my children’s bookshelves at all. Sometimes I feel like we have too many books and then we have multiple story times a day and I’m thankful for the variety. My goodness, how privileged we are. “80% of all pre-schools and after school programs serving low-income populations have no age-appropriate books for their children.” After reading that article and really thinking about early literacy and different early literacy programs, I wanted to do something! How can I make a difference with my little book, T-Rex and Tuck Explore the Zoo?

I am currently in the process of getting a paperback version of my book printed so that I can hopefully start donating books to children in need. If my book can help children in the early stages of development learn to have a love for reading well then, I must try. I am looking into different early literacy programs that might need books and would love any suggestions about local non-profits that might benefit from a read aloud and a classroom full of books. If you know of any, please don’t hesitate to post them in the comments!

Thank you and as always, happy reading—and maybe the next time you open a book make sure to remember to be grateful for the opportunity.

The Literacy Project Blog Post Link:

https://literacyproj.org/2019/02/14/30-key-child-literacy-stats-parents-need-to-be-aware-of/