Emily Carter

I remember the first time a parent handed me her child’s test report and asked, “What does the 78th percentile actually mean?” She had circled the number, stared at it, and still felt unsure. That moment is why I wrote this guide. If your child took a standardized reading assessment like MAP, STAR, Iowa, or … Read more

On March 2, 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that six titles would stop being published because they contained racist and insensitive imagery. The news surprised many readers who grew up with the Cat in the Hat and the Grinch, but the criticism had been building for decades. We pulled together the facts on why those … Read more

Read Across America Day is an annual nationwide reading celebration held on March 2, founded in 1998 by the National Education Association (NEA) to motivate children and teens to read. Over the past two decades, the program has transformed from a single-day event centered on Dr. Seuss’s birthday into a year-round initiative that celebrates diverse … Read more

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read, held October 4-10 in . Organized by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom and a coalition of more than 20 partner organizations, the week highlights attempts to remove books from libraries and schools. I’ve spent years covering literacy and library issues, … Read more

If you have ever wondered about the difference between banned and challenged books, you are not alone. The two terms get used interchangeably in news headlines, on social media, and in school board meetings, but they describe very different things. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials based on the objections of … Read more

Last month, my nephew finished his first chapter book. He sat cross-legged on the living room rug, turned the final page, and immediately asked, “Do they have another one?” That single question captures exactly why book series help build reading stamina in kids better than almost anything else I have seen in fifteen years of … Read more

If your toddler wants the same bedtime book every single night, you’re not alone. Research shows that reading the same book over and over helps toddlers in powerful ways, from building vocabulary and confidence to creating emotional security right before sleep. I remember reading Goodnight Moon so many times I could recite it in my … Read more

I have two kids, a tablet that lives on the kitchen counter, and a stack of library books I keep renewing in a panic every three weeks. Some weeks the books win. Other weeks a YouTube rabbit hole wins, and I find myself reminding a six-year-old that Lego does not need a screen to be … Read more

I remember the moment I realized screen time had changed my son’s relationship with books. We were halfway through a chapter book at bedtime, and he kept losing the thread of the story. A few years earlier, my older daughter had sat through the same book without a single prompt. The only difference? Two more … Read more