Creating Moments That Matter
Reach Out and Read envisions a world where every child has the relationships essential to learn and thrive.
We aim to strengthen all families with young children through guidance from medical clinicians about nurturing relationships through shared reading.
In deep partnership with a network of clinicians, Reach Out and Read leverages the near-universal reach of the pediatric well-child visit, using children’s books and shared reading to support parents and caregivers in fostering early literacy and healthy relationships with their infants and young children. The only national pediatric literacy model endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Reach Out and Read annually serves 4.4 million children and families across every state in the country.
Reach Out and Read is committed to nurturing the relationships that enable EVERY child to learn and thrive. Outlining steps to a better future for millions of under-resourced children, our new strategic plan includes a goal to double our reach by 2030.
Explore goals that will guide this seismic growth along with updated mission, vision, and values.
Introducing 35 for 35
35 for 35 celebrates the millions of families transformed across our 35-year journey — and the millions more we will soon reach. This 35-title collection marks our anniversary with 350,000 newly printed books for clinicians to share with young children: a variety of fun, inclusive stories about all families, communities, and cultures.
Books, like mirrors, help reflect what we observe and know about the world we live in. It’s powerful to read or listen to a story about someone like you. Books also allow us to view and understand lives that are different from our own, like a window onto other experiences. But to succeed as mirrors and windows, books must tell a wide range of stories — and they must include an inclusive, wide variety of people and cultures. At Reach Out and Read, we’re committed to increasing access to inclusive books for young people of all races and backgrounds.
Public Policy Agenda
Reach Out and Read’s new public policy agenda advocates for young children and their families and recommends that policymakers and partners create and/or improve systems crucial to public health and early literacy. We challenge policymakers, clinicians, and early childhood champions of all kinds to use this agenda to focus investment, advocacy, program development, and resources.
Study shows Reach Out and Read parents are more likely to read with children daily.
Support for Parents
All children need strong, positive, and nurturing relationships to grow and develop. These parent/caregiver-child relationships often begin at birth and are essential for healthy physical, cognitive, and emotional development. We remain committed to supporting families with young children and our resource library can help you learn more about the benefits of reading aloud together and creating those “moments that matter.”
Reach Out and Read Podcast!
Don’t miss this podcast centered on the belief that children’s books build better brains, better family relationships, and happier, healthier children and societies. Join us as host Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, a pediatrician with a master’s degree in library science, dives into a wealth of varied early childhood health and literacy topics with expert guests examining the many facets of supporting the parent-child relationship as key to early success.
Shaping Brighter Futures
It’s vital that children benefit from reading and other language-rich experiences starting at birth. Reading together furthers language acquisition, promotes brain development, and provides an opportunity for families to build powerful, lasting bonds.
Nurturing Young Minds
At Reach Out and Read, we know that reading aloud together, telling stories, and sharing books help forge a meaningful connection between caregiver and child—they create moments that matter. This is the underpinning of what’s known as Early Relational Health. These positive, language-rich interactions are the foundation for a young child’s healthy development and long-term well-being. By making Reach Out and Read a part of their practice, clinicians have a built-in strategy for working with families to strengthen that essential relationship. As part of our Next Chapter, Reach Out and Read is committed to expanding and strengthening our network and bringing moments that matter to every young child, every family, and every community.