Emily Carter

Have you ever walked into a school library and wondered how all those books ended up on the shelves? The process is far more deliberate than most people realize. Every book in a school library represents a deliberate decision made by a trained professional using specific criteria, policies, and community input. Understanding how school libraries … Read more

Reading instruction has its own language, and as a parent you have probably stumbled across terms like shared reading, guided reading, and read-aloud without knowing how they connect. Our team works with families every week, and the same question comes up: what is actually different about shared reading vs guided reading, and which one should … Read more

Reading level and interest level measure two completely different things, and confusing them is one of the most common mistakes parents and teachers make when matching children with books. Reading level tells you how hard a book is to decode. Interest level tells you what age the content is meant for. A child can read … Read more

If you’ve ever wondered whether your child needs a reading specialist or a special education teacher, you’re not alone. The roles sound similar, but they answer to different laws, serve different populations, and use different tools. In this guide, I’ll walk you through a reading specialist vs a special education teacher comparison so you know … Read more

If your child struggles with sounds and you’re weighing speech therapy vs reading intervention, here’s the short version: speech therapy fixes the underlying sound and language skills a child needs to read, while reading intervention teaches the reading skills themselves. Many kids need both. Few articles walk you through the difference clearly, so let me … Read more

If you have ever worried about handing your child a tablet instead of a picture book, the data now backs that instinct. A 2023 study from the University of Valencia, drawing on 25 years of reading research across more than 450,000 participants, found that reading comprehension is six to eight times better when children read … Read more

Picking up a well-loved classic from your own childhood can feel like handing a piece of family history to your child. The question is whether the story still works for the kid holding it now. Learning how to tell whether a classic children’s book has aged well saves you from awkward conversations, rushed covers, and … Read more

Content warnings on children’s books are brief notices placed in or on a book to alert readers, parents, and educators that the story contains potentially sensitive material such as death, abuse, bullying, or violence. These warnings give families a chance to prepare emotionally, decide whether a book is the right fit, or plan a conversation … Read more

I have watched a 12-year-old who swore he hated reading finish a 300-page novel in three days because the main character looked like him and lived in his neighborhood. That single moment changed how I think about books, identity, and what it really takes to reach struggling readers. If you have ever asked, “How do … Read more

A reading log is a tool used to track reading activity, typically recording book titles, pages read, or time spent reading to encourage accountability and independent reading habits. For decades, schools and parents have relied on them to make sure kids actually open books outside of class. But a growing body of research suggests the … Read more