Photo via the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
At Read to Grow, our mission is to promote language and literacy for children beginning at birth and to support families as their babies’ first teachers. Every book we share and every family we serve is guided by decades of research showing that early literacy experiences lay the foundation for lifelong learning.
For more than 100 years, researchers have observed that children who grow up in homes filled with books are more likely to achieve higher levels of academic success. For many years, however, it was unclear whether books themselves made the difference or whether they simply reflected other advantages, such as higher family income or parents’ education levels.
Now, new research offers compelling evidence that books themselves play a meaningful role.
A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that having books in the home has a direct, positive impact on children’s learning and educational outcomes. The findings suggest that simply increasing children’s access to books can have lasting benefits for their development and future success.
For Read to Grow, these findings reinforce what we’ve known all along: getting books into the hands of children matters.
That’s why we’re committed to ensuring every child has access to books from the very beginning of life. Through our programs, families receive high-quality children’s books along with guidance and encouragement to make reading a joyful part of everyday routines. By helping parents and caregivers build confidence as their child’s first teacher, we’re creating opportunities for language-rich interactions that support healthy development.
Research continues to affirm the importance of early literacy, and we’re proud to put that research into action every day. Together with the families we serve, we’re helping children build strong foundations for learning, fostering a love of reading, and creating brighter futures—one book at a time.
