Reach Out and Read annually serves more than 3.9 million children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years of age. Some 27,000 doctors and nurses participate in the program – at hospitals, in clinics, and in doctors’ offices – in every state and at 44 U.S. military bases. And the impact — as documented by 14 peer-reviewed, published research studies – is powerful. Kids’ vocabulary, language, and pre-reading skills are far ahead of their peers’ when they reach school – typically six months ahead – simply as a result of being read to regularly.

Take a read of the full article in Forbes by Steve Cohen to see how congress would rather fund prisons, than books!