Get Caught Reading this May

by Abigail Knowles Wolfe (BPRW)

Why doesn’t anyone read anymore? Is it because modern Americans work too much and rest too little? Is it because of our multiple entertainment outlets including television, the Internet and movies available on the big screen and right from the comfort of our own homes? An Associated Press (AP) – Ipsos Poll released in August of 2007 stated that one in four American adults neglected to read even one book in the preceding year! Of those readers polled, women and the senior citizens were the most ardent readers, reading religious books and popular fiction more than anything else.

May is “Get Caught Reading Month” as sponsored by the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Get Caught Reading is a campaign focused on reminding people of all ages how much fun reading can be. Research indicates that children’s early language experience actually stimulates a child’s brain to grow. Furthermore, reading gives these children who are read to a huge advantage when they start school. Reading develops the imaginative mind of all people, young and old, as they are whisked off to far away places or taken back in time through wonderfully written stories.

African American and Latino populations tend to have child reading scores lower than those held by their Anglo and Asian counterparts in school. Therefore, reading initiatives are vital, not only to instilling a love of reading in children during their formative years but in educating parents on what they can do to form their children’s budding minds. Make time to read in May, for who knows who you might inspire!