A trusted messenger: Parents trust and value the advice they receive from their child's medical provider. Reach Out and Read is unique in working in the special setting of the pediatric health examination to promote a child's literacy.
Broad scope and reach: Participating medical providers offer the Reach Out and Read intervention, which includes a developmentally-appropriate book, to all children at each well-child visit from 6 months through 5 years of age. They are also urged to begin talking with parents about the importance of talking, singing, reading, and playing with their babies as early as the newborn visit.
Hope for educational success: Reach Out and Read explicitly ties reading aloud to later school success; this strategy supports the aspiration that parents have for their children.
Cost effective: There are no annual licensing fees or charges for a clinic to use the Reach Out and Read model. Training for all providers and staff is provided at no cost.
Stretching every dollar: Deep discounts from multiple vendors enable Reach Out and Read Minnesota clinics to buy books far below retail prices. Our clinics have access to quality book titles in English and many other languages, including Spanish, Somali, Hmong, Karen, and Burmese. A unique program also provides a limited number of books in Ojibwe.
