In this week’s Memphis Flyer feature “Report: Tennessee Ranks 37th in Country for Child Well-being” by Allie Maury, I read the troubling statistic that, based on the newest Kids Count Data Book, between 65 and 68 percent of fourth graders are not proficient at reading. That 37th ranking is a dire warning. There are only 50 states, so ranking anything below 25th should amount to a five-alarm fire. The reading stats are particularly abysmal, with close to 70 percent of fourth graders struggling with reading.
Setting aside the fact that these kids will one day be adults who need to think and make decisions, vote, and get jobs, the atrociously low reading stats hit home for personal reasons. Namely, because I review books, and books — not to mention book reviews — require readers.
We have got to get these kids reading; our nation’s future (and my monthly car payment) depend on it.
In all seriousness, reading is a foundational skill that opens doors to the acquisition of other abilities. Whether a child dreams of being an astronaut or a neuroscientist or a veterinarian or an electrician, they will surely have to read a few textbooks to make that dream a reality.
Additionally, reading and writing are practices that help us structure our own thoughts. As a writer, I often find myself challenging my own assumptions as the process of writing forces me to think critically about a subject, or requires me to synthesize additional sources of information. The end result is almost always both a stronger piece of writing and, on my part, a deeper understanding of my subject. That final moment of comprehension relies on the act of writing as a tool to guide my thoughts; the “doing the work” portion is the most crucial component.
Creating an avid reader doesn’t require a large personal book collection. The first and best resource for parents actively working to turn their children into readers will always be the public library. I will never forget my first trip to the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library at the Memphis Public Libraries (MPL, memphislibrary.org). I checked out Brian Jaques’ The Outsider of Redwall and Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot, and I’m still checking books out of my local library more than 30 years later.
There are more than just books at the library, too; there are toys, activities, book clubs, classes, story times, and more all at the MPL. Though mere proximity to books won’t help a child’s literacy level, in my experience with my toddler-age son, a kid who plays at the library will, on occasion pick up a book, even if the train set and fish tank are the main attractions.
The library also has regular sales when patrons can scoop up pre-owned books for pocket change. My son’s bookshelves are full of library castoffs, and I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than $5 at a time at a library sale. Not a bad option for the budget-conscious parent of a young reader.
Oh, and in the wake of the recent excessive heat warnings, would it be a good time to mention that libraries are typically air-conditioned, and that reading is an age-old, go-to indoor activity?
All-time Tennessee hall-of-famer Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (imaginationlibrary.com) has been sending books, free of charge, to children from birth to age 5 since 1995. “When I was growing up in the hills of East Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams. They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer,” Parton says on the Imagination Library website. “The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.”
I was fortunate enough to be introduced to reading at an early age. I was a latchkey kid with a library card, and I quickly discovered that, though real-life travel presented challenges of cost and logistics, I could get to Pern or Camelot or Baskerville Hall for free if I was willing to turn some pages. For anyone who is struggling with literacy, however, Memphis boasts other resources as well. Literacy Mid-South (literacymidsouth.org), Memphis Lift (memphislift.org), and the Memphis Literacy Institute (memphisliteracy.org) all offer a different array of options.
Memphis is host to more locally owned bookstores, literacy resources, and professional storytellers (be they writers, musicians and rappers, or filmmakers) than most American cities of its size. It would be a shame to let those resources go to waste, or to allow the kids of Memphis to grow up without a strong connection to their heritage as one of the United States’ most storied cities.
Jesse Davis is a former Flyer staffer; he writes a monthly Books feature for Memphis Magazine. His opinions, such as they are, were cultivated in local libraries from a young age.
