About Reach Out and Read 

Reach Out and Read's national network of clinicians delivers vital information about the importance of reading at routine pediatric checkups. This means they have unmatched access to families during the years from birth to age three—a period of critical brain development. 

During well visits, pediatricians talk with parents about the benefits of reading aloud and sharing with their young children beginning at birth. They 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. They 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.

Many of the families that Reach Out and Read serves do not have any books at home. At the end of the program, every Reach Out and Read child has a home library of books—each given with the advice to families that they are their child’s first and most important teacher. As they read and spend time together, families form lasting connections and children learn new skills that serve them well throughout their lives.