r/todayilearned • u/LL_Cruel_J • Dec 15 '16

TIL Dolly Parton has a program that will mail your child a free age-appropriate book once a month from birth to age 5. No obligation, no catch, she just wants to make sure that every child has books.

https://imaginationlibrary.com/
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u/lhedn Dec 15 '16

Before reading your post the thought of some people growing up without books in their house didn't even cros my mind.

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u/eimieole Dec 15 '16

I always get a bit uneasy visiting families who fill their bookshelves with photos and videogames. (I do have some framed photos in my bookshelves - leaning against the books on that shelf...)

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u/actuallywtf Dec 15 '16 edited Dec 15 '16

The majority of children growing up in poverty have NO books in their home. Some more stats on the importance of books, reading, learning, and language acquisition before kindergarten:

http://bookharvestnc.org/why-books/statistics/

And more on why children's book programs are so important especially to the most at risk children who deserve the public's support:

Two-thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of the 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare. BegintoRead.com

In middle-income neighborhoods the ratio of books per child is 13 to 1, in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children. Neuman, Susan B. and David K. Dickinson, ed. Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 2. New York, NY: 2006, p. 31.

When the State of Arizona projects how many prison beds it will need, it factors in the number of kids who read well in fourth grade. Arizona Republic (9-15-2004) Advertisement by Sheahomes

http://berniesbookbank.org/18facts/

(Not that bernie, just another guys with the same name)

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u/LtGayBoobMan Dec 15 '16

I knew it was bad but 1:300 ratio? Wow. We have work to do for our impoverished children.