Skip to main content
3800 American Blvd West
Suite 1500 - 8013
Bloomington, MN 55431
Phone ‪(612) 208-9765‬
Contact

#BooksBuildBetterBrains

About Us

Our Work

A BOOK IS JUST THE BEGINNING

At clinics across Minnesota, healthcare providers use the Reach Out and Read program to talk about how reading, singing, and talking to young children can prepare them for a happier and healthier future.

We provide brand new books and early developmental guidance to young children and their families at over 300 clinics statewide.

Together we can build a future for Minnesota where every child has the relationships, resources, and support they need to succeed.
 

Father and toddler share book together

OUR MISSION

We seek to strengthen all families with young children in Minnesota through guidance from medical clinicians about nurturing relationships through shared reading.


 

Clinician and young girl read book together

OUR WORK

At over 300 clinics across the state, medical clinicians trained in our program give books to children and give developmental guidance to parents and caregivers at their children's routine well-child visits. Our program gives young children and their families both the resources and knowledge they need to build a foundation for a healthier and happier future. 

 

 

Our Model

The Reach Out and Read program is an evidence-based program which harnesses the brain-building power of books and makes reading, learning, and bonding a part of children's routine pediatric care.  So how does it work? 

  • At the beginning of every well-child visit from infancy through age five, a child's healthcare provider (this could be a pediatrician, family physician, nurse practitioner, or other primary healthcare provider) will give the child a new book. 
  • The provider uses this opportunity to gauge a child's development and engage parents or caregivers in a conversation on how language-rich interactions, such as reading, singing, and playing together, help a child learn and grow up healthily and happily. 
  • Every family goes home with a brand new book and better equipped to learn, bond, and grow together. 

Because our program is integrated into the existing healthcare system, our program is cost-effective and scalable. With over 90% of young children in the state attending a well-child check at least annually, our program is uniquely positioned to reach families on a near universal scale in Minnesota. 

Reach Out and Read Model: young child & family go to doctor, doctor gives book, talks about how reading singing and talking help child developmentally, process repeats at each well-child visit through age 5
pediatrician, toddler boy, and mother smile while sharing a book

The first Reach Out and Read clinics arrived in Minnesota in 1997.  Our network now includes over 300 clinics in every region of the state, from International Falls to Albert Lee! Learn more about our history. 

We believe that culturally responsive care is quality care. This means that we strive to provide books that all families in Minnesota can relate to and get excited about.  We currently provide books in more than a dozen languages, including Spanish, Somali, Hmong, and Ojibwe. 

The Reach Out and Read program is endorsed by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics, who has called literacy promotion an "essential component" of pediatric care. 

"Reach Out and Read is the most studied and scaled primary prevention program… [which seeks] to prevent gaps in readiness before they emerge."

-The American Academy of Pediatrics

Why it matters

The first years of a child's life build a foundation for their future. Every book read, every snuggle shared, and every song sung together make a difference that can last a lifetime. 

The simple act of snuggling up and sharing a book has incredible effects. Reading with a loved one constructs the neural pathways of a child's brain, it makes them feel secure and loved, and it reduces toxic stress, allowing the child to learn and grow healthily. The science makes it clear: books build better brains. 

With the high cost of childcare, the pervasive presence of screens, and enormous inequities in education and health outcomes, Minnesota families currently face many tough challenges in supporting their young children's learning. 

The evidence tells us our program can make a real difference. 

Research shows that among participating families:

  • Parents and caregivers read more often to their children.
  • Children have increased expressive and receptive vocabulary scores.
  • Parents and caregivers have higher levels of trust in their children's healthcare provider
  • Children have higher rates of attendance at their well-child visits
     

  • Reach Out and Read is supported by more than two dozen peer reviewed studies which show how we boost reading and early learning in the home and can improve pediatric outcomes.

  • Explore ways you can help make our program possible including starting a book drive or volunteering at our book storage site.

  • Learn more about how you can build the brains of the little ones in your life! Check out our collection of early learning tips, games, book lists and more.

 

"I've seen parents that were not getting their kids in for regular vaccinations or well visits start coming regularly to their scheduled well visits because there is something to look forward to: to learn about, to improve their child's life and education, to be involved with reading to their child from a book in their own language. It's so exciting."

Rachael Rapacz, MD, Hennepin Healthcare

3800 American Blvd West
Suite 1500 - 8013
Bloomington, MN 55431
Phone ‪(612) 208-9765‬
Contact
MENU CLOSE