What is Reach Out and Read (ROR)?

A National Model

Pediatricians and early childhood specialists founded Reach Out and Read (ROR) in 1989 at Boston City Hospital, now part of Boston Medical Center. Over the past 14 years, the program has evolved to become a national model for early childhood literacy, endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, with more than 1,800 sites throughout the United States.

Program Components

The program is based on three components:

• Pediatricians are trained in strategies to promote literacy in children, and they give parents concrete and developmentally-appropriate advice about books and reading
• Children are given a new, carefully chosen book to take home at every check-up from six months to five years. Each child will start school with a library of at least ten books in their home.
• Trained volunteers share books and stories with children while they wait for their appointments, showing parents by example that their children enjoy listening to and being engaged by books.

To obtain more information about starting a program, contact:

The Reach Out and Read National Center
29 Mystic Avenue
Somerville, Massachusetts 02145
617-629-8042