Kids & Family Reading Report™

A biennial national survey of parents’ and children’s reading attitudes and behaviors.

Reading’s impact on kids’ mental health

Half of parents of 6- to 17-year-olds (51%) believe their child’s mental health was negatively affected by their pandemic experiences. Dr. Linda C. Mayes, MD, Arnold Gesell Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology, Director of the Yale Child Study Center, and a steering committee member for the Yale Child Study Center-Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience, digs deeper into the research, including how families and educators can foster mental health through reading. Read on

Summer Reading

Children are still playing catch-up from the pandemic, making summer reading even more important. Scholastic Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Amanda Alexander, contextualizes this data and shares how educators can help strengthen summer reading connections with families. Read the article here.

 

Download the full, printable summer reading infographic here

Families need more summer reading information & resources 

96% of parents believe that summer reading will be helpful to their children during the school year, but they don’t know the “why.” 

Kids like summer reading! 

61% of kids enjoy summer reading and they most want chapter books, picture books and graphic novels. 

Keep kids engaged 

52% of kids say they enjoy going to community events that involve reading. 

Teacher Appreciation 

School-aged kids and their parents say educators are central to their reading journeys. Scholastic CEO, Peter Warwick, highlights teacher-focused data in
a note of appreciation to educators. Read the letter here.

 

Teachers: discover simple ways you can continue to inspire kids to become readers here

Teacher encouragement matters to kids 

70% of children list their teacher/ school librarian as someone who encourages them to read for fun. 

Parents rely on teachers 

42% of parents of school-age children turn to teachers/school librarians for help in choosing books for their child. 

Teacher curation of books and accessibility matter 

41% of children told us they get most of their books from school. 

Past Reports

The Kids & Family Reading Report™ is a national survey sharing the views of both kids and parents on reading books for fun and the influences that impact kids’ reading frequency and attitudes toward reading. To access past reports, please visit our website.