Being an avid reader for most of my life and the daughter of a librarian, I love and appreciate books. But that's not the case with many people, especially kids, whose only introduction to books may be what they're required to read in school -- if they're lucky. Many financially-strapped schools don't always have the resources to place books in the hands of students, if those students are able to read at all.
Literacy rates are hard to quantify, especially when there are so many definitions as to what constitutes literacy. However, past surveys have disclosed that 40 percent of America's fourth graders do not meet basic reading levels, and The National Assessment of Educational Progress found that 70 percent of fourth graders did not meet the proficiency level of reading. Not surprisingly, family income plays a major role. A report by the Packard and MacArthur Foundations found that the average child growing up in a middle class family has been exposed to 1,000 to 1,700 hours of one-on-one picture book reading. The average child growing up in a low-income family, in contrast, has only been exposed to 25 hours of one-on-one reading.
And now for one of those "duh" moments -- The National Assessment of Educational Progress 2000 national reading assessment of fourth-grade students found that reading for fun had a positive relationship to performance on the NAEP reading scores. The 87% of students who reported reading for fun on their own time ONLY once a month or more performed at the Proficient level, while students who never or hardly ever read for fun performed at the Basic level. Students who read for fun every day scored the highest.
The Mystery Writers of American decided to help. They established the MWA:Reads program (formerly Kids Love a Mystery). Children's mystery authors are often available to meet with children in schools, libraries, and bookstores, and on the Internet to read, write, and discuss mystery stories. In February 2007, they also set up the MWA:Reads Library Initiative aimed at helping financially burdened libraries in the United States by seeking book donations for libraries to add to their collections.
Just the other day, MWA announced that the 2007-2008 Honorary Co-Chairs of MWA:Reads will be Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. (Former chairs have included R.L. Stine, Katie Couric, and First Ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.) Barry and Pearson are co-authors of the best-selling Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, The Starcatchers, and Never Land, suspense-filled action books for children of all ages that prequel the life of J.M. Barrie's classic Peter Pan.
If you're a mystery author and would like to help, contact the MWA for more information. If you're not an author but would like to contribute, you can send books in new or great condition, especially children’s mysteries, to: MWA:Reads LI, ATTN: Suzy McGinley, WVLC, 1900 Kanawha Blvd East, Cultural Center, Charleston, WV 25305.
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