Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.
– Kate DiCamillo

You may know that May 5-9 is Teacher Appreciation Week, but did you know that the second week in May is also designated Reading is Fun Week?

Of course, we at Exchange love reading, so we thought it would be fitting to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week by offering special ways to support your love of reading (and your support of children’s joyful literacy learning) all week long.

We’re starting the first day off by highlighting Stacy Benge’s important book, Whole Child Alphabet: How Young Children Actually Develop Literacy. The book aims to develop generations of children who not only CAN read but WANT TO read.

Unfortunately, recent research world-wide, shows a decline in children’s reading enjoyment as they grow older. For example:

An online article from the US National Endowment for the Arts explains that, “U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported long-term declines in the share of 13-year-olds who reported reading for fun ‘almost every day.’ In 2023, the figure was 14 percent, down from 17 percent in 2020 and 27 percent in 2012. The share of 13-year-olds who fell into this reading category in 2023 was lower than in any previous test year.”

And a 2024 article in the Guardian reports that in the UK, “National Literacy Trust finds only 35% of eight to 18-year-olds enjoy reading in their spare time, a sharp drop on last year to the lowest figure yet recorded.”

One goal of Stacy Benge’s inspiring book is to help children gain literacy skills in a way that will encourage them to become enthusiastic readers for life!