Expanding Family Reading Cultures
There’s a growing recommendation encouraging a “100-book home” that comes from decades of research conducted around the world. In several studies, the size of home libraries and frequency of self-selected reading of books were linked to growing children’s school and life success.
Natural readers
Research shows that the presence, sharing, discussion, and enjoyment of books in homes is critical for families to establish and strengthen a natural culture of reading.
Data supports that children from homes with many books, or what we term “book gardens,” are more likely to read for fun every day compared to their peers with few or no books in their homes. This dynamic holds constant regardless of family income, ethnicity, or educational background of the parents.
Nurturing a reading culture
How do families develop a culture of literacy? Sometimes it happens naturally. When an individual is raised up in a family that values books, they tend to carry that value into their own parenting and young family’s culture.
But what if parents are from homes where books aren’t valued? In this case, a family can be supported to make a cultural change.
Communities can create opportunities for bringing together non-reading families with reading families, which helps create and strengthen a culture of literacy, such as:
Invite non-reading parents and family members to visit book-engaged groups in communities, like community centers, libraries, and neighborhood book clubs—anywhere that books and learning from them is valued.
Establish informal, comfortable gathering spaces where young families can engage in book reading and conversation, and share about the power of books and reading for their children. Spaces in community centers, libraries, and coffee shops—anywhere that books and learning from them is valued.
Encourage people to share books, magazines, and other casual reading materials they’ve enjoyed by placing “take a book/leave a book” bins in public spaces, like laundromats, grocery stores, churches, bus stops, and health clinics. Little Free Libraries are a popular way to share books, as well.
Where reading is embraced, book gardens grow.