Hard to find anyone who would argue with that.  In fact, it’s a favorite soapbox of all kinds of politicians, who love to bemoan the state of literacy and the failure rate of American students on standardized testing of reading skills.

Well, to be fair, it’s one of my soapboxes too. The importance of reading, and getting kids (and other people) engaged with reading and learning, is something I’m really passionate about. And a big part of getting kids connected with books is to give them books. Seems obvious, I know. But not every kid grows up in a home filled with books,  or with parents who love reading and model it. There are a lot of adults who struggle with reading, or avoid it.  Some kids don’t even have a home… and without an address, you generally can’t get a library card.  And many don’t have the money to get a book of their own.

And that is why, as Nicholas Kristof wrote in a New York Times op-ed (a portion of which is quoted here) programs like Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and First Book are so vital to developing a nation of readers. The ownership of a book is an incredible gift of power. Not only does it increase children’s interest in and enjoyment of reading, but it positively affects family literacy and offers new opportunities for educators to involve their students in reading and learning.

So, if our elected officials agree that reading is vital, and programs like RIF and First Book encourage and promote literacy and reading for kids, families, and schools, with research supporting their practices, why are they cutting funding for these programs?

Hope for the future comes from reading and learning there’s more to life than what you see. Children, and the world,  need hope. And books. Or they’ll be left bereft, as well as behind.