The long awaited summer months are almost here, and while fun in the sun is top of mind for us all, we’re also thinking about how we can help encourage students to keep reading over the summer.

Summer reading is critical, not only for helping kids maintain learning while school is out, but also for fostering social-emotional development, discovering the joy of stories, and elevating the importance of lifelong learning.

Educators and parents agree summer reading matters. According to the Scholastic Teacher & Principal School Report, 96% of educators agree that providing year-round access to books at home is important to enhancing student achievement. And according to the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report™: 7th Edition, 94% of parents agree that reading books over the summer will help their child during the school year.

In addition to academic benefits, there are powerful social-emotional impacts when kids read. Eighty-three-percent of educators say reading helps students understand people that are different than them, 81% say reading helps students develop empathy, and 81% say reading helps students see themselves in characters and stories.
In addition, 74% of kids say that reading fiction and nonfiction helps them understand the world. That’s pretty special!

When it comes to encouraging summer reading, we know that when kids choose, they read! Eighty-nine-percent of kids agree “My favorite books are the ones that I have picked out myself.”

And all formats for reading materials are great. For instance, graphic novels and comic books are nearly equally as popular among frequent and infrequent readers.