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How literacy programs can help shape communities

Kids Books
Posted at 12:55 PM, Dec 07, 2022
and last updated 2022-12-07 14:57:02-05

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is having a major impact on children.

The program provides books for 2 million children every month.

New research shows kids in the program perform better in school.

They're also more likely to be reading more frequently with their parents.

"We know the more books in the home, the better a child will be, and that's founded in research," said Renee Lyons of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance.

Lyons believes literacy rates in the U.S. are at crisis levels.

"Data says the United States is 125th in literacy," she said. "We have to make improvements. We have to as a society or we're going to be a third-world country."

Other programs like Reading Rockets and the Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation are helping get books to children.

"We know that getting books into the home is so much more," Lyons said. "We can change the trajectory of families, of communities."