2/3 of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare.
Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation (TN) Link.

90% of children who struggle to read in 1st grade will be poor readers in the 4th grade.
Juel, Connie. “Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children from first through fourth grades.” Journal of Educational Psychology 80, no. 4 (1988): 437. Link.

75% of adults read below the 6th grade level.
Magnet ABA Therapy. US Literacy Statistics. The State of Literacy in America: A Comprehensive Overview. February 28, 2025. Link.

In poor neighborhoods, there can be as few as 1 book for every 300 children.
(See our page on Book Deserts.) Neuman, Susan B. Changing the Odds for Children at Risk. 2008, Bloomsbury Publishing USA. Link.

Prenatal reading advances child brain development.
(Please see our page on this topic.)  Mariani, B., et al. “Prenatal experience with language shapes the brain.” Science Advances 9, no. 47 (2023): eadj3524. Link.

Reading to Infants Benefits both Baby & Adult.
Jimenez, Manuel E. et al. Early Shared Reading Is Associated with Less Harsh Parenting. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics 40(7):p 530-537, September 2019. Review Link. Article Link.

Reading with Children Fosters Brain Development and Bonding Attachment.
Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation [TN] Link.

The Number of Books in a Home Strongly Predicts Educational Success.
Evans, Mariah et al. “Family scholarly culture and educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 28, no. 2 (2010): 171-197. Link.

Increased parental reading in low-income families expands parental warmth and sensitivity, and decreases parenting stress.
Canfield, Caitlin et al. “Beyond language: Impacts of shared reading on parenting stress and early parent–child relational health.” Developmental Psychology 56, no. 7 (2020): 1305. Link.

Involving families in language and literacy activities at home is important to preschoolers’ development of early literacy skills.
Kim, YaeBin, and Teresa Byington. “Community-based family literacy program: Comparing different durations and family characteristics.” Child Development Research (2016). Link.

Reading for Pleasure Helps Kids’ Brain Development.
Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian, Christelle Langley, Jianfeng Feng, Yun-Jun Sun, Scientific American/The Conversation, September 4, 2023. Link.

Reading to Babies & Toddlers Improves Language & Cognition.
Raikes, Helen et al. “Mother–child bookreading in low‐income families: Correlates and outcomes during the first three years of life.” Child Development 77, no. 4 (2006): 924-953. Link.
Niklas, Frank, Caroline Cohrssen, and Collette Tayler. “The sooner, the better: Early reading to children.” Sage Open 6, no. 4 (2016). Link.

Children who read for pleasure do better in school, in college, and have stronger writing skills.
Block, Cathy Collins, and John N. Mangieri. “Recreational reading: 20 years later.” The Reading Teacher 55, no. 6 (2002): 572-580. Link.
Gallik, J.D. (1999). “Do they read for pleasure? Recreational reading habits of college students.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 42,480-488. Link.

Children with reading problems are at increased risk of teen parenthood, substance abuse, and of being a greater economic burden on society at large.
Nieman, Peter, “Promoting literacy in the physician’s office.” Paediatrics & Child Health 7, no 6 (2002) July/August 2002. Link.
Shaw, A., Canadian Paediatric Society, and Community Paediatrics Committee. “Read, speak, sing: Promoting literacy in the physician’s office.” Paediatrics & Child Health 11, no. 9 (2006): 601-606. Link.

Low Literacy Leads to Poorer Health.
DeWalt, Darren A., and Michael P. Pignone. “Reading is fundamental: the relationship between literacy and health.” Archives of Internal Medicine 165, no. 17 (2005). Link.

America is Reading Less, and Less Well, Diminishing Employment and Income.
Sullivan, S., B. Nichols, T. Bradshaw, and K. Rogowski. “To read or not to read: A question of national consequence.” Washington: National Endowment for the Arts (2007). Link.

Books Bolster Life Skills.
Katz, Bridget. “Growing Up Surrounded by Books Could Have Powerful, Lasting Effect on the Mind.” Smithsonian Magazine, October 12, 2018. Link.

Libraries & Museums Positively Affect Health and Other Quality of Life Indices.
Institute of Museum and Library Services. “New Research Underscores Role Museums, Libraries Play to Create Healthier, More Equitable America.” October 27, 2021. Link.

The Link Between Reading Fiction and Empathy.
Mar, Raymond A., Oatley, Keith and Peterson, Jordan B.. “Exploring the link between reading fiction and empathy: Ruling out individual differences and examining outcomes.” Communications 34, no. 4 (2009): 407-428. Link.

Reading Makes Us More Human.
Prior, Karen. ‘How reading makes us more human.’ The Atlantic, June 21, 2013. Link.

Great Literature Makes Us Better.
Currie, Gregory. “Does Great Literature Make Us Better?” New York Times, June 1, 2013. Link.

Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and More Cooperative.
Paul, Annie Murphy. “Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer: ‘Deep reading’ is vigorous exercise from the brain and increases our real-life capacity for empathy.” TIME June 03, 2013. Link.