Our Impact

Why Reach Out and Read Works

A trusted messenger Parents trust and value the advice they receive from their child's medical provider. Reach Out and Read is unique in partnering with the child's first medical provider in the special setting of the pediatric health examination, to promote a child's literacy. 

Broad scope Participating medical providers offer the Reach Out and Read intervention to all children at each well-child visit from 6 months through 5 years of age. Most children see their pediatrician at least 10 times during this period.

Educational success: Reach Out and Read explicitly tie reading aloud to later school success; this strategy supports the aspiration that parents have for their children.

Stretching every dollar Deep discounts from publishers, as well as an innovative bulk-purchasing program, enable Reach Out and Read to buy more than twice as many books as it could at standard retail pricing. These prices permit us to serve more children at a lower program cost, and purchase the highest-quality book titles in 14 languages. 

2020 Fast Facts

• Number of Reach Out and Read eligible visits well check visits: 44,601
• Number of new books prescribed by pediatricians: 33,920
• Cumulative books provided since 1998: 1.8 million books