Restoring joy in reading will require commitment from parents — and a renewed trust in teachers, in librarians and in kids themselves.
Children’s reading skills shrank during the pandemic. But even before 2020, the pleasure they took in books was waning. In its 2023 Kids & Family Reading Report, children’s publishing giant Scholastic noted that only 28 percent of children between ages 6 and 17 said they read five or more days a week, a fall of 9 percentage points since 2010. Indeed, frequent reading has been on the decline since the NAEP began measuring it in 1984.
That’s a tragedy. Books are delightful. Reading for pleasure is widely accessible and cheap, thanks to libraries. And it can help kids transcend their circumstances. A 2002 analysis of children in 32 countries performed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that highly engaged but poor 15-year-old readers scored higher on literacy tests than rich children who dislike reading, and almost as well as middle-income frequent readers.
One obvious way to start building a lifetime reading habit is ensuring children have plenty of books at home. Kids who read frequently have an average of 139 books in their home libraries; infrequent readers have just 74.
Nonprofits are stepping in to close the gap. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library sends children a free book each month until they turn 5. Reach Out and Read distributes books and reading guidance to parents at pediatrician’s appointments. In Arkansas, researchers found that Imagination Library participants scored higher on academic tests and were less likely to be held back a grade, even when controlling for factors such as race and family income.
But the presence of books probably isn’t enough to make a reader. Parents also need to read to their children consistently, reinforcing that books are a source of fun and family closeness. And once children are reading independently, caregivers should find creative ways to help them attempt harder texts.
Even reading experts can be surprised by what works. Tricia A. Zucker, co-director of the Children’s Learning Institute at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, has two daughters with dyslexia. One girl’s teacher suggested the family watch the Harry Potter movies before tackling the text. Knowing the plot motivates her daughter, Zucker reflected, “to just keep working when she comes to those hard words.”
It might take time for families to find their breakthrough books, too. Sasha Quinton, president of Scholastic’s school reading events division, told me her son struggled with reading until Dav Pilkey’s bold and colorful Captain Underpants graphic novels zipped to the rescue.
A book has to compete for “culture share” with games, Roblox and YouTube, Quinton explains: “It has to capture their minds in the same way.” The allure of alternatives grows stronger as kids get older, busier and more tethered to their phones — and as reading becomes a solitary pleasure rather than an opportunity for parental snuggles. In 2022, Scholastic found that 46 percent of 6-to-8-year-olds are frequent readers, compared with 32 percent of 9-to-11-year-olds and just 18 percent of 12-to-17-year-olds.
Some simple strategies can keep kids immersed.
Trusting children to pick their own books is essential. Year after year, almost 90 percent of kids 6 to 17 tell Scholastic that they are most likely to complete books they choose for themselves. That might mean books that deliver belly laughs rather than lessons in character, or graphic novels rather than great literature. For an elementary school kid still getting to know the world, a guide to rocks or sharks might be what tempts them to keep reading by the glow of a flashlight after bedtime, even if the prose lacks the luster of the subject matter.
Giving kids freedom to choose doesn’t mean letting them flounder, though. When volumes are too easy or too hard, kids’ experiences might set off a downward spiral of opposition to reading rather than a virtuous cycle. Librarians and teachers are key to guiding children to books that will engage them and encourage them to stretch without getting demoralized.
Given the importance of both autonomy and guidance, it’s a shame to see some conservative activists demonizing librarians, shunting books to restricted shelves or throttling young people’s access to digital libraries. These steps might rob kids of the opportunities and relationships most crucial to fostering their bond with books.
Reading, like any adventure, is always going to be a little bit risky. To chance being awed or crushed, rocked with laughter or moved to tears — that’s the very reason to open a book. Parents who hope to raise readers need to give children the tools they need and then find the courage to let them voyage forth.
