Reach Out and Read

Reach Out and Read is a national nonprofit that champions the positive effects of shared reading and engaging in other language-rich activities with young children. Reading with a parent or caregiver promotes healthy brain development, furthers language acquisition, and helps families build meaningful bonds.

Our network of pediatric teams provides families at routine check-ups with the knowledge and tools they need to make reading a part of their daily routine. By integrating reading aloud into pediatric care, we reach 4.6 million children across the country — nearly 70 percent of whom come from low-income families.

Reach Out and Read's national network of clinicians delivers vital information about the importance of reading at routine pediatric checkups. 

• During well visits, we talk with parents about the benefits of reading aloud and sharing with their young children beginning at birth. We show them how to hold books to best engage their children, and how to interact with the text and images to help them follow along. We share advice for talking about stories with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Families gain a deeper understanding of why they should make reading a daily habit, and leave inspired to cuddle up with their young one and a book.
• At the beginning of the visit, we give each child a new, developmentally-appropriate book to take home with them. We offer books in 28 different languages. Books can even be useful for families who don’t read—we encourage them to talk about the story that the pictures tell.