If you have ever watched your child devour a graphic novel in one sitting and wondered whether that “counts” as reading, you are not alone. I have heard this question from parents, grandparents, teachers, and even school librarians. The short answer is yes, absolutely, graphic novels for kids count as real reading, and the research … Read more
You’ve read Goodnight Moon 47 times this week. You know every word of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by heart. And you might be wondering if your child will ever pick up a different book. Take a breath. Yes, learning how to help a child who only wants to reread the same book is a real … Read more
Watching your child reach for the same easy picture book when they can clearly read chapter books feels confusing. You know they can do harder work, so why do they choose something below their level? If your child only wants easy books below their level, you’re not alone. We’ve heard from hundreds of parents who … Read more
If your tween used to devour books and now barely touches them, you are not alone. Research from the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that reading for fun drops sharply between ages 9 and 13, and the decline has been steepening for over a decade. The good news is that this phase is normal, … Read more
Your child loved chapter books last year. Now, the same kid who refused to put down a flashlight and a Junie B. Jones novel suddenly acts like reading is a punishment. The library is “boring.” Independent reading time is “stupid.” You’re left wondering what changed, and whether you did something wrong. This is one of … Read more
How the Caldecott Medal winner is actually chosen comes down to a 15-member committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) who read, debate, and vote on hundreds of picture books over nearly a year. Winners are announced each January during the American Library Association’s LibLearnX conference after a multi-round ballot process that … Read more
Few things drain a parent’s evening faster than the nightly battle over assigned school reading. You ask your child to open the book, and suddenly there’s a stomachache, a sudden need for a snack, or an existential declaration that “reading is the worst thing ever.” You’re not alone, and you’re not failing. Our team at … Read more
When I asked our team to settle the audiobooks debate once and for all, I expected a simple yes or no. What we found was more interesting. More than 40% of Americans believe audiobooks don’t really count as reading. Cognitive neuroscientists at Harvard disagree, and so do most librarians and reading specialists. Yes, audiobooks count … Read more
Every fall, teachers see the same pattern play out in their classrooms. Students who were reading confidently in June come back in August stumbling over words they used to know. This phenomenon, known as the summer slide or summer learning loss, is one of the most well-documented challenges in education. Understanding why children lose reading … Read more
Reading just 4 to 6 books over the summer can prevent the slide that pulls many children backward in reading skills. Researchers have found this modest number is enough to keep kids from losing ground during the long break. The key is consistency, not volume. If you have ever watched your child return to school … Read more