Study Finds Reading to Children of All Ages Grooms Them to Read More on Their Own

Cue the hand-wringing about digital distraction: Fewer children are reading books frequently for fun, according to a new report released Thursday by Scholastic, the children’s book publisher.

In a 2014 survey of just over 1,000 children ages 6 to 17, only 31 percent said they read a book for fun almost daily, down from 37 percent four years ago.

There were some consistent patterns among the heavier readers: For the younger children — ages 6 to 11 — being read aloud to regularly and having restricted online time were correlated with frequent reading; for the older children — ages 12 to 17 — one of the largest predictors was whether they had time to read on their own during the school day.

The finding about reading aloud to children long after toddlerhood may come as a surprise to some parents who read books to children at bedtime when they were very young but then tapered off. Last summer, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced a new policy recommending that all parents read to their children from birth.

“A lot of parents assume that once kids begin to read independently, that now that is the best thing for them to do,” said Maggie McGuire, the vice president for a website for parents operated by Scholastic.

(Rest of the article in the New York Times)

2014 Proves Another Solid Year for Indies

A mild winter in many parts of the country coupled with a six-year low in unemployment and significantly lower gas prices combined for a strong holiday season at most independent bookstores and up sales for the year. Or as Steve Bercu, CEO of BookPeople in Austin, puts it, “People are just back into books. There was just tons and tons of stuff getting sold.”

Based on PW’s informal survey of more than two dozen stores, many easily beat the National Retail Federation’s prediction of a 4.1% increase during November and December. Beth Black, co-owner of the Bookworm in Omaha, Neb., which moved to an upscale shopping center in October, described the Christmas season as “terrific. Our holiday sales were up nicely over last year, up 20%.” Long-time bookseller Shirley Mullin, owner of 29-year-old Kids Ink in Indianapolis described it as “the best holiday season we’ve ever had.” 

(Rest of the Article)

If Your Kids Won’t Read, Maybe You Should Find Them Better Books

In January, Scholastic is publishing the fifth edition of its "Kids & Family Reading Report," a big survey on kids' reading habits and preferences. A sneak peek is up here, and while not all of it is surprising — did you know that people of almost all ages really, really like Harry Potter? — one finding in particular sticks out: According to Scholastic, "73% of kids ages 6-17 say 'I would read more more if I could find more books I like.'"
This suggests a seemingly easy way to get kids to read more: expose them to more books, and ones that are a better fit given their interests. Easier said than done, of course: It's easy to imagine tired, overworked, but otherwise good parents falling victim to the busyness of daily life and failing to take an active approach to helping their kids find good books. For a lot of folks, it's probably an uphill battle just to carve out a couple of hours to make a family trip to the library, let alone to take the time to join their kids in exploring the stacks. But if this survey's any indication, doing so will probably pay off.   read the rest

Science Has Great News for People Who Read Actual Books

I's no secret that reading is good for you. Just six minutes of reading is enough to reduce stress by 68%, and numerous studies have shown that reading keeps your brain functioning effectively as you age. One study even found that elderly individuals who read regularly are 2.5 times less likely to develop Alzheimer's than their peers. But not all forms of reading are created equal.

The debate between paper books and e-readers has been vicious since the first Kindle came out in 2007. Most arguments have been about the sentimental versus the practical, between people who prefer how paper pages feel in their hands and people who argue for the practicality of e-readers. But now science has weighed in, and the studies are on the side of paper books. 

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