A Book Is Just the Beginning
We provide training, resources, and support.
At Reach Out and Read, we believe all families should have the tools and information they need to make shared reading a daily routine. We help integrate guidance about reading into pediatric practices, advise families about the importance of building healthy relationships, and share books that serve as a catalyst for healthy childhood development and family bonds.
A trusted partner.
Reach Out and Read’s national network of clinicians delivers vital information about the importance of reading at routine pediatric checkups. This means we have unmatched access to families during the years from birth to age three—a period of critical brain development.
Families place deep trust in our pediatric teams, who teach them about the importance of reading together. In the same way, those teams look to us for guidance and support regarding how best to make reading a part of their practice. We implement the latest research with fidelity across tens of thousands of teams, ensuring that each program site benefits from the latest information and the strength of our shared network.
It is a priority that program books reflect the widest possible representation of the children and families we serve, with stories that are relevant and engaging, accurately reflect and affirm a diverse range of identities, cultures, and histories, and contain illustrations that are colorful and recognizable to young children.
During well visits, we talk with parents about the benefits of reading aloud and sharing with their young children beginning at birth. We show them how to hold books to best engage their children, and how to interact with the text and images to help them follow along. We share advice for talking about stories with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Families gain a deeper understanding of why they should make reading a daily habit, and leave inspired to cuddle up with their young one and a book.
At the beginning of the visit, we give each child a new, developmentally-appropriate book to take home with them. We offer books in 28 different languages. Books can even be useful for families who don’t read—we encourage them to talk about the story that the pictures tell.
Many of the families that Reach Out and Read serves do not have any books at home. At the end of the program, every Reach Out and Read child has a home library of books—each given with the advice to families that they are their child’s first and most important teacher. As they read and spend time together, families form lasting connections and children learn new skills that serve them well throughout their lives.
“I am going to see the doctor. She is going to give me a book today and we will read together. She lets me keep the book!”