Reading Teachers Lounge

7.3 Book Equity

• Shannon Betts and Mary Saghafi • Season 7 • Episode 3

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7.3 Book Equity with Marty Martinez and Judy Newman 

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Welcome to the Reading Teacher's Lounge, where you can learn on the go by eavesdropping on experienced reading teachers chatting about best practices that have helped their students grow. Mary and I, along with expert guests, share what we wish we'd studied in college, what we've discovered works with the students we teach, and what we're continuing to learn from the science of reading. 

Mary Saghafi: Learning to read is hard. And sometimes, teaching a child [00:02:00] how to read feels even more challenging. The Reading Teacher's Lounge is here to help you navigate the right choices for your readers. Come join the conversation. 

 

 

 

Hello! 

Welcome to the Reading Teacher's Lounge! Today, we are really excited to share this initiative that we have learned about. The We have Marty Martinez from Reach Out and Read, and we also have Judy Newman with us, and they're going to tell us about this initiative called Reach Out and Read. So, Marty, if you want to start, just tell us a little bit about yourself and the work that you do within the world of literacy. 

Marty Martinez: [00:03:00] Sure, and thanks so much. Thanks so much for having us on here. So as I am the CEO of Reach Out and Read which is a national organization dedicated to the integration of early literacy early word development, early bonding all the things that help young children start off strong at the earliest stages of their development. 

So, for me, it's an important role that I play as the CEO of this national network. That reaches over 4 million children across the country but probably the most important role I play in early literacy is I have a 6 year old son who is learning to read each and every day who started first grade yesterday and that's probably the most impactful role around early literacy that I'm playing on a day to day basis, so that's a little about me. 

Shannon Betts: You're gonna see the scope and sequence for the phonics goes so fast in first grade. It is an amazing year. 

Marty Martinez: Yeah, I can already feel it. 

Mary Saghafi: It's so exciting. I have a first grader as well [00:04:00] this year too. And it is, you're right. That is the most important role that you have in the world of literacy is when you have your, your child. 

Judy, we'd love to hear a little bit about you too. 

Judy Newman: Yes, and I beg to differ. Well, the second most important role for literacy development is grandmotherhood, which I am now in, and I have a four year old granddaughter and a one year old granddaughter, and that really takes reading and reading aloud and sharing books and stories, honestly, to a whole other level. 

So just saying on that, on that score. My name is Judy Newman. Thank you so much for having me here to join Marty. And I am at Scholastic. I am currently the chief impact officer. People are like, what does that mean? Well, what it really means is I get to partner with Marty and Reach Out and Read and organizations who are committed to bringing the best, broadest group of diverse titles to their constituencies. 

As constituencies as possible. And of course, it's scholastic. We have the [00:05:00] capability to look at books from all publishers and create affordable, diverse you know, collections of titles and to deliver because distribution is, is an important part of this. And so I've been in scholastic for many decades. 

I was the president of scholastic book clubs for many years, the little flyers that You probably remember getting his kids. And so it's really a thrill to be here with Marty after working with Reach Out and Read for many decades. Also, I am currently on the board of Reach Out and Read and was a past board chair many years ago as well. 

So great to be here today. 

Shannon Betts: So tell us more about Reach Out and Read, Marty. I was trying to like define. Are you, are y'all a non profit or y'all a company? It, it seems. Just describe it to me, please. Yeah, for 

Marty Martinez: sure, for sure. So, we're a national non profit organization. We were started about 35 years ago at a safety net [00:06:00] hospital. 

The largest safety net hospital in Boston at the time was Boston City Hospital, and now it's Boston Medical Center. And we're a simple model we're an organization that supports a very simple model that integrates children's books into well child visits for all children 5 and under. For and so our model really trains clinicians physician family doctors, pediatricians, nurse practitioners, anyone who delivers a well child visit, we train them on how to use children's books as part of that visit, how to use that book as part of a developmental assessment tool, how to use that book to promote shared reading how to use that book to really help create early bonding between a parent and a child and, and, and also how to use that book to strengthen the visits. 

Of an early well well child visit between the doctor and a family when a child and parents are really trying to get a lot of information to support the development of their child. So we as an organization. We're 35 years old, started in one one clinic, and [00:07:00] now we're in over 6, 400 clinics across the country. 

We have 36, 000 trained clinicians who implement our model. Over 4. 4 million children served last year. And on a pathway to serve 50 percent of all children five and under in the United States by 2030. As we look to grow and create this opportunity for, for all children to have access to this model. 

Really children's books are the tool. That we use to really strengthen relationships and help children be ready to learn and thrive and that is our sort of contribution, if you will to the early literacy, early brain building early development for children. So that's who we are as an organization, and we, a lot goes into making that happen across the country. 

Judy Newman: Yeah, and just to jump in Scholastic was one of the originating partners of Reach Out and Read 35 years ago, and my former boss, Dick Robinson, who was the [00:08:00] second only ever CEO of Scholastic, his dad founded the company and truly a brilliant, committed literacy advocate in every way. Excuse me. 

He would say reach out and read is the best nonprofit because it uses the existing infrastructure of the pediatricians and the health care providers to deliver this support and this modeling to family. So we've been together for 35 years, Scholastic and Reach Out and Read, and it really started with that vision of Dick's to understand the value of this organization. 

Shannon Betts: So, Marty, are you putting books in families hands during those well child visits? And then are you, is the doctor teaching parents sort of how to interact around a book? 

Marty Martinez: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we are. So last year alone, we purchased and distributed over 9 million books across the country. And so we put books in the hands of clinicians [00:09:00] who then in turn put books in the hands of children and families. 

And and the clinicians trained on how to both model shared reading and how to do that with your child regardless of their age and five and under, right? So you might ask yourself, my one year old doesn't know how to read. What am I, what am I doing with this book? They're, they're one years old, right? 

There's a lot you're doing with that book, and the doctor's doing a lot with it as a tool to, as part of the developmental assessments. That a clinician does, but also, you know, lessons around why, you know, sharing the book, the stories in the book, the words in the book, the pages, the colors that are the images that are in the book, help a child's brain develop, right? 

We know if we know a child's brain is what 80 percent developed by the time they're three years of age. And so that early reading, that language, that knowledge, that sort of built in, in those moments. Really not only help the brain development, but it's also building these what we call moments that matter between parents and children, right? 

And we've all read, I mean, if [00:10:00] you're, you know, Judy's a grandma and if you're a parent you know, when you read to a child, that sitting there bonding, that connection around what you're reading as much as, as much as the words on the stories come alive and yeah. As someone who's been a, you know, a firetruck, a dinosaur, you know, a giraffe, all the things that I've been, those stories of my son, you know, it's the moments of bonding and sitting there and connecting and sitting on your lap and him saying, just one more book to delay bedtime. 

It is all those things and those connection points that a doctor is being trained by us to use as a tool throughout those full child visits. And so that's really the power of the It's that to Judy's point, it uses an already existing system or infrastructure and what we do around in doing that with, you know, almost 10 million books last year alone, we can't do that without partners like Scholastic and others who help us create access. 

To books, a parent and a family walks away with at minimum [00:11:00] 14 books over the course of those well child visits new you know, culturally reflective of the communities that people live and work and play in and their, and people's own communities and the, and the neighborhoods that they live in. 

And so that helps build a library at home and start to build and set up. And sort of plant the seeds for a love of reading. So that's what our model does. And again, the book is the tool that allows us to sort of create the learning, but also to help sort of strengthen the opportunity that exists around shared reading for children and families. 

So the model again, very simple. And but again, has, has big impact. 

Mary Saghafi: Shannon and I in one of our earlier seasons, we did an episode on books as windows and doors and mirrors. And I know that that is also something that Reach Out and Read, you know, talks a little bit more about. So could you elaborate a little bit more about the importance of these like culturally relevant books and why they're so essential to put [00:12:00] into people's hands? 

Marty Martinez: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I mean, you know, when you think about books as, you know, windows, mirrors, and doors, I mean, really books create not only the opportunity for the children and families to, you know, get lost in a, in a story or a journey or some sort of you know, amazing sort of narrative of what's happening to a child or a family or, or something in that book, But it also allows families and children to see themselves, right? 

To be able to look in the mirror and see, oh, that's like me. That's, you know, for a, for a child to see a child that, you know, has their skin tone or has their family makeup or comes from a neighborhood like theirs, right? Or to think about the fact that we talk about families looking through windows and seeing what's around them and seeing others who might not be like them, but are in their same communities or go to their same schools. 

Right. We actually have a book in one of our collections 35 to 35 collection that we've done with Scholastic, this [00:13:00] amazing nationwide collection that we have of diverse, 35 diverse, beautifully sort of created books that we've distributed to thousands of clinics across the country. 

It's called, it's called Windows. And it's a great story where a child's looking out the windows and seeing all the things that are in their neighborhood and all the things that sort of make up their community. And so, that book, for example, allows a child to see other things, not just who they are, but what's around them and the things that are there. 

I can't stress enough the culturally responsive and diverse books. Really do allow you to see sort of stories that you can relate to and connect to. And that's true for families and that's true for sort of understanding the world around you. And the world that it can be. I've said this before to Judy and Judy knows as well from on my end, my son will see a book and instantly, if a child's hair is like his, or his skin tone is like his, or his papa happens to be bald, he'll say, oh, that looks [00:14:00] just like my papa, or that looks just like my skin, or he has my nose, right? 

And then the story ends up being like, oh, look, he's like me. Right. And so that relation, that connection makes that story that much more meaningful for children and the learning is so valuable in those moments. And so I think the, it's not just a, oh, that's nice. It actually magnifies the learning from, from the words on their page and the story and the bonding that happens because you're bonding over something that you're connecting with. 

And so I think that's truly, that's truly valuable. So that's why it's important, I think, in general for what we do, but it's also super important, I think, in general, that early literacy reflects on the communities that children are growing up in and the families that they're from. 

Judy Newman: And just to lean into that a little bit you know, as you know, from a reading teacher's perspective, you know, a teacher can start to introduce students beginning in pre K or kindergarten to a breadth of diverse titles, you know, hopefully, [00:15:00] when they can have them in their classroom and so on and so forth, but in the zero to five space or the zero to four space, you know, what Reach Out and Read does is kind of get everybody ready for kindergarten or ready for preschool, which, as you know, is very important in terms of literacy readiness. 

And so that exposure to diverse, curated, wonderful titles that are affordable, and these books look beautiful in the 35, for 35 collection, it's harder to do that in the zero to five space where there isn't necessarily that, you know, systemic way of teachers kind of introducing children and families to books. 

It's been a groundbreaking initiative, which I hope Marty will talk about a little bit more. The genesis of it, but it was his vision. And, and he, you know, he just said, I want this done, figure it out and everybody did and I'd really love him to explain a little bit what it is. 

Marty Martinez: Yeah, I mean, I can tell you, I mean, this you know, it was a desire for us to continue to you know, to make progress and push a movement to ensure [00:16:00] that we have diverse folks that are reflective of the community that are affordable. 

And it's hard to say when we think about early literacy books that are more you know, more diverse that are bilingual that, you know, sort of have the ability to reach communities are more expensive. And so they're more expensive, which means they're harder to get and are harder to make available and accessible. 

Across the country. And so for us we were really focused on doing it. This year was our 35th anniversary as an organization. And so working in partnership with Scholastic, we were able to create this amazing collection of 35 for 35 books that are across our entire age bracket that are diverse. 

You know, a collection that was curated in partnership with Scholastic to really say, how do we make books that people want access to, that are, that are not only reflective, but culturally relevant and that are new, new titles to, to our universe that doctors want to give to families and want to use as part of that tool. 

And so we were able to create this amazing [00:17:00] collection. Over 350, 000 books were created through the collection and are being distributed to thousands of clinics across the country and over a million dollars being spent on this initiative that then will only grow as more folks see these amazing books. 

That habit. I always say that one of the benefits of of helping to lead an early literacy coalition is my son gets a preview of all these amazing books. And he's a big fan of the books and a big fan of the stories that they tell. And so again, this collection's gonna allow. To create access so there isn't always access to these kinds of books, right? 

And so we're doing that whether it's a clinic, clinics in New York City or clinics in, in Vienna or in Oklahoma or in L. A. We're creating access across the country in this younger age bracket to this amazing collection. Which we're excited to do and it's only the beginning of creating affordable access to books for families who many times will tell their doctor, you know, we've never, these are the first [00:18:00] books we've ever owned. 

And so isn't it great that now we own them and we have them. And then we can keep building on them as part of reach out and read through their, through their visits to their doctor. So it's a really amazing initiative. And again tip of the iceberg of the work we want to continue to do, which isn't possible without partners like Scholastic, so it's really great. 

Shannon Betts: Last season we had a guest named Molly Ness on and she told us about the term book desert, which I've heard of food desert. We see that and we both live in Atlanta, you know, there's some places that don't have X, some neighborhoods don't have access to good grocery stores and things like that. And I never heard that in terms of book desert because I'm looking at Judy's. 

And I was raised by college professors and that's exactly what my house looked like. I mean, if we ran out of room, we just built a new bookshelf, you know, and so I didn't realize, you know, that like a lot of students. Don't, you know, just they might have one book in their bedroom [00:19:00] or zero, you know, and none in their living room. 

And so I appreciate that y'all are doing that. I'm sure that a lot of the clinics that you target are going to, you know, immigrant communities, maybe some high poverty communities and things like that. Yeah, it's really true. And I think, you know, Not having access you know if you're not in school yet, right, and that's our population five and under, you're not yet in school, so we're getting that access, right? 

Marty Martinez: And so building that into that system, right? So for us, our targets really are, you know, federally qualified community health centers, safety net hospitals, tribal health clinics across the country, you know, really making sure that places where you're there are lots of needs being met by healthcare and can we integrate this opportunity so access to books is a great opportunity for folks to have an access to new books. 

I don't want to undersell that. I think a lot of times that when in local communities, you might have access to books that are borrowed and [00:20:00] used. And again, some of our best books that I still have are borrowed and used, but having access to new books that are that are nice and they're beautifully designed and that actually reflect the community is not doesn't always exist. 

Right. So having that I think is a really important piece to that and doing that. With, with, with clinics helps, right? So it's, it's not like, well, you have to go to the library to do this, or you have to go here to do this. No, I'm going to the doctor. My, I put my son to the doctor, and he's going to get a book. 

And now that book is to come home and be part of part of the equation of, of the literacy rich home. That we're trying to build, which I think is also a part of that. So then when he goes to first grade or second grade and he goes to the book there, or, you know, 

Shannon Betts: they don't buy the little pencils and 

Shannon Betts: posters, but they buy the books, 

Marty Martinez: they buy the books. 

That's right. That's right. And now he comes home and, you know, gets that. So that's exactly what it's building that, right. And I think that's an important part of what we're trying to do together. When we think about [00:21:00] what we're doing and what we're making happen. I mean, even Judy, I was even thinking about this on our end, what we do for, you know, kids five and under and how it feeds into, you know, what you all are doing, for example, for kids that are in school. 

Right. And that's what it is. It's like a stepping stone or building block. So that it continues to build. It's hard to show up in kindergarten and all of a sudden, you know, you're supposed to be, you're supposed to be read to every single day. And this is the first time you've ever heard that message. 

That's a tough thing for parents. And then it's a tough thing to actually make happen with no books. So that, I think that's all sort of interconnected. 

Shannon Betts: You mentioned a couple of times that 35 collection. Is there a way, can we know what titles are on that? Can you share that with our listeners? Cause that sounds like it is a very special curated collection of books that I'm sure, you know, the other reading teachers listening would say, Oh, I want to have some of those books in my classroom for my students to read. 

Marty Martinez: Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I mean, Judy probably has them all there. We have them handily available on our website. [00:22:00] 

Shannon Betts: Okay, so we'll link to that in our show notes then. 

Marty Martinez: Regenerator has them, has it on our website. And again, there's some amazing books there. You know for me, like We're Here, Tammy Charles has a great book that we've been able to read. 

LeBron James has a book in that, in that collection, which is, which is a really great book that's, that's sort of included in there. That I would mention. I also say Julian at the Wedding is a book that it's a, it's a great book that's a next step book for kids. But one of the greatest things about the collection is that it has books for very young children and then books all the way for children four and five, right? 

Because our, our model cuts all the way across to create some of those opportunities. So the book's great. It has a very strong collection of BIPOC sort of both authors and illustrators. And if you think about, you know, book equity, you think about not only what is the book, but who wrote the book and who illustrated the book. 

And so that's also part of the equation. And so people can understand some of those pieces as well. So [00:23:00] it's a great collection, but people should see it on our website. There's really good information on there about that. 

Shannon Betts: It really, it does both. It's, it's important both things that you're doing, that you're getting the books in the hands and that also you're getting the right books in the hands because you're making sure that their, their first reading experience is positive, that they do see themselves in stories and that books, you know, or a ticket to a To elsewhere and then a journey and all the things to then and then hopefully that would set them on the, you know, lifelong reader, you know, trajectory, and if they didn't have that first experience, if it was just some sort of random book that wasn't as special, they might not necessarily connect to it as deeply. 

Marty Martinez: Right, absolutely. And what that story then ends up connecting it to, right, which I think is an important one, and that's tied in [00:24:00] together, right? So the lesson you learn, you take with you, if you're only reading books about animals, not that books about animals aren't great, but if you're only reading books about animals, you know, you might not connect to that, right? 

But if you're reading a book about a kid that looks like you, or you're reading a book about a neighborhood that's like yours, Or using names that you might have that, that relevant, it makes it more relevant. And also helps sort of the building of that of that connection. Which I think is a, which I think is a key part of trying to make sure that that's also, that's also a part of it. 

And then it, it continues on to school which I think is the next step and sort of the equation. 

Judy Newman: The other thing just to add is that it also brings familiarity and relatability to the caregivers and the families, the parents who are reading the stories, you know, so it's a shared moment. And so it's also helping, you know, the grownups in the conversation like. 

support their children's literacy and their own development in many cases. So I think these books are so relatable to every member of the family including the [00:25:00] ones who are reading them out loud and sometimes not reading them so well, or just pointing to the pictures and, and getting the families comfortable with books and being book owners and. 

And sharing with their, with their children and being told by the medical practitioners, there's no one right way to do this. If your child wants to eat the book, you know, that's okay. Or, or point out things that, you know, you don't have to be such a proficient reader as a mom or dad or caregiver, grandma, you know, go with it. 

So I think that brings a whole lot of that also to the equation. 

Mary Saghafi: I'm really glad that you shared, especially that last point, because on all of these Areas that we've touched about this initiative. It's very well thought out. There's very strong good reasons behind, you know why everything has been decided. 

And I think the one when I was browsing through the website, I was also really surprised. But now I'm not so surprised. There's so much research backed information. And there's a lot of research initiatives that are tied with You know, with reach out and read. And so I [00:26:00] was just wondering if you could share a bit about those findings because already being within the medical community, I'm sure, you know, it's an easy tie, but you're also now gaining access to learn more about best practices for reading. 

So I was just wondering if you could share a little bit about that. 

Marty Martinez: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think one of the, one of the things that's It is so exciting for an organization like ours. It's three decades, three decades young is that we have a very strong evidence base that not only has shaped how our model has been developed. 

But also has shaped what we've learned about the impact and outcomes of what we do, right? So, you know, having, you know, a variety of studies, I think we have over 20 studies that sort of have assessed the impact of what we do and the impact of sort of the model itself. You know, the impact has included studies that show that parents are two and a half times more likely to actually read to their infants or toddlers being exposed to [00:27:00] our model. 

So for families who participate are two times more likely to read to their children on a regular, consistent basis. They're also, they also, families also report and enjoy reading together and having books in the home, being exposed to our model. So they get a book, but then they also enjoy it because there's also a piece of it that's connected to the development of, of their child. 

I, I think that, that reading every day sort of piece is important because, you know, I'll say this as, you know, when my son was down at the kindergarten, one of the things that came home with him every day was this sheet. That asks you, did you read to him Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and you needed to, like, initial the sheet. 

Well, you know, this Papa didn't always initial, always read to him every day, but didn't always initial the sheet. And so on, on Friday that she would come back to you with a happy face, if you read to him every day, or a sad face at the top of the sheet, if you didn't read to him every day. I thought maybe I shouldn't come back with a sad face, but that might be a different, I'm a different strategy, but I understood the concept. 

Shannon Betts: Did you just feel some feelings because you're the CEO [00:28:00] of the literacy initiative organization, and you got the sad face like, You weren't marking that you read. 

Marty Martinez: I was like, come on, the marking is, you know, the act is happening, but, but that's the point. Right. And so I say that because like one of the power and benefits of our model and research has shown this is that, you know we use a trusted source and time and time again, studies have shown that your, your child's pediatrician, your child's doctor is someone you really trust. 

And so we use that trusted source to deliver an important message about reading, shared reading, about language, around sort of word development. And our studies have shown that it makes parents more likely to engage in that activity, because the source, That is delivered, that is, is, is a doctor. It also, some of our studies have also shown that it has tied reading and, and brain development into healthy development. 

So it's not just learning, right? It's not just, oh, that's what the school does. School's going to get, school's going [00:29:00] to help my child learn. No, your doctor told you at two years old that you should be using this book now because it's helping them develop. Right. So all of a sudden I'm part of the learning as a parent. 

It's not that it's not just something that happens at school. Right. So our evidence base has been robust around what it does for Parents and kind of their behavior and how they think about it. It's also shown that it has strengthened children's language development greater word development and language development. 

A variety of studies have shown that and several more recent studies and evidence have shown that it strengthens the delivery of health care for children. We have a couple of studies that show that the presence of Reach Out and Read in in a clinic overall that the presence of Reach Out and Read will improve the likelihood that families go to well child visits, right? 

It, it improves the attendance rates of those well child visits. And so listeners hearing that, when children go to well child visits, they're preventative. [00:30:00] Right. And so they prevent the things that could be coming rather than trying to respond and react to them as they come. Right. Prevention. I'm a public health guy. 

So prevention is always where we want to be rather than just focusing at the treatment. And so when children come to those visits, they can stay healthier and something can be caught that maybe isn't going to be caught. So it also improves the delivery of healthcare. So again, our model is very simple. 

It's a very simple model to integrate, but it has the power and the evidence that's shown, to your question, Mary, the evidence that's shown that it has, it can make a big impact. That's why we're not stopping at 4. 4 million children. We are focused on having every child have access because the aggregate can really not only impact children and families, but communities. 

And that's really why it's so powerful to be able to be able to do that. So I think the evidence base is important and we want to continue to lean into it as we grow our model and continue to expand our scale across the country. [00:31:00] So for the attendance statistic, you're saying like the parents are more likely to bring their children to the two year old visit, the three year old visit, the four year old visit, they're not just getting a sticker or a sucker or something, they're getting a book, and that kept them coming back? 

Yeah, the research showed that, the research showed that clinics that didn't have Reach Out and Read in these, in these couple different studies, those clinics had a lower well child attendance rates than the clinics that had Reach Out and Read. And so it's also like a culture that Reach Out and Read helps to promote. 

Within those World Child Visits actually is an indicator that there's something about the environment that is being created. And we're even doing more right now. We're actually doing a study right now about parent satisfaction of a visit that has Reach Out and Read versus parent satisfaction of a visit that doesn't have Reach Out and Read, right? 

If you talk to any doctor who's delivered Reach Out and Read, and You know, I've been a CEO now for two and a half years. I've met more pediatricians in my two and a half years than I [00:32:00] ever thought I would in my life, but if you meet a pediatrician who delivers Reach Out and Read, what they will say about Reach Out and Read is like it's the magic sauce. 

It's like the magic ingredient of what they're doing in this visit. Right, because most doctors start the visit with the book, they bring it in with them. It's not an added piece, it's a part of the conversation, it's part of the connection. And it becomes a tool to strengthen the bond between the doctor and the parent between the parent and the child, right? 

Pediatricians have to deliver a lot, don't do this, you should do this, don't do that, this is what should be happening, but the book helps it be more about like, here's a tool to use to build bonds, and to build connections, and so that book strengthens that visit. So, long way to say Shannon, it, the evidence is showing us that it strengthens the delivery of healthcare and that's what we're really excited about as well, because it speaks to the fact that every child should have access to it. 

Very simple model. Every child should have it. And that's what we're striving to try to make happen. 

Shannon Betts: And you kind of [00:33:00] touched a little bit on the details, because I am kind of curious what happens during that doctor visit, because I got as a Classroom teacher, I would get a lot of times this question in parent conferences where the parents would say, how can I help support my child's reading at home? 

You know, and I would almost sometimes be frozen in that question because there's so much you could say, you know, and so how do y'all distill it to the essence? Do you give a brochure? Does it's the, you know, you said the doctor's walking in with the book and then what happens? . 

Marty Martinez: Yeah. So the doctor walks in with a book and so, and, and very early on uses it inter interacting with the child and interacting with the parent. 

Right. You know, sort of talks with the, the child about the book and, and uses it to show to the parents, see how you see the child could be one years old, the child could be three years old. We start at birth. So we give out a birth, we give out a book, a two month visit. And so really it's helping the parent understand well what is the child doing with the book right so to do this earlier. 

You know, if the child, if the parent [00:34:00] takes the book, the child takes the book and puts it in their mouth, and the parent's like, no, no, no, the doctor's like, that's okay. That's a totally normal behavior. Child should do that, right? Or one of our great two month training videos shows doctors that, how a doctor talks to parents about tummy, tummy time, when, when you need to put your, your baby on tummy time. 

Put the book up and the child can and look at the images on that book. So they're just going to look at it and it keeps their attention on it, even though they don't want to be in their tummy. Here's a way to use that as a tool to be able to make sure that your child can do that. So the pink, we train clinicians how to use the book throughout the entire, you know, 15, 16 minute visit in ways that are pretty impactful. 

Another key piece of our model that I think you could see and listeners can see on our website is the modeling, right? What does it mean to read to your child? How do you use the book in that shared reading opportunity? And what does that actually look like? That modeling is really important. It's also a way for a doctor to say, it's okay if you don't have 25 minutes [00:35:00] to read to your child each day. 

A little bit matters, a bed matters, a little bit around this book. It's okay if you can't read all the books, right? English might not be the first language of the, of the family and the book might not be in the native language in that moment. It's okay if you don't know all the words. Just spending time sitting and looking at the pictures, making up stories is also important. 

So the modeling is also a part of it. I think the biggest message is encouraging parents to spend some time. With the book, with their child, daily if possible. Moments matter and we truly mean moments. And that's how we train the clinicians to deliver that message when research childhood families really if they hold that message and it means something, especially because it's coming from that clinician and delivered in this context of healthy development not just education, even though that's important, it's that integration that makes a big difference. 

Mary Saghafi: I think that was perfectly distilled because I feel like that's, that's really what we really needed [00:36:00] to hear. I'm wondering if you could maybe share a few ideas too, because as I think of this with my teacher hat on, I'm wondering what can I do to curate my library in my classroom? Well, you know, with young learners, what are some things that I should really think about when I'm choosing books to make sure that they're culturally relevant for my students? 

Marty Martinez: Yeah, I'll offer one quick thing, and I'll pass it to Judy, because I know Judy has so much experience in this, is I really think looking at, you know, looking at who's in your classroom, I think is an important element of that, right? And, and thinking about who's there, I will say, you know, on a personal note, My son's kindergarten teacher reached out to us and said, I think books like this would be helpful to me. 

Because she knew more about my son and was learning more about my son and that he's really interested in this. And he knew, she knew our family dynamics and sort of our representation. It was honest. I don't have any money to buy books. That might reflect something that's important to your child. 

Might you be, you know, could you help me [00:37:00] identify books that, that does that? And we were more than eager to do that because it put our child's, you know, family in that library. And so I think I would just say understanding who's in the classroom and understanding where children come from. I think that's an important element of, of that and curating books that reflect that. 

And again, I just think it matters more than I think something people realize. But Judy, I mean, this is the work that you guys do. So I'll let you sort of take that. We do. And just to, you know, it's great to have as many editorial voices in the conversation as you can. So in the curation of the 35 for 35 collection, We did have all the scholastic experts, but we also had the first, I think, ever publishing director, editorial director at Reach Out and Read, Angela Cunningham, who really understands books. 

Judy Newman: So, you know, as you know, it's, it's a dialogue about what are the best books? What are new books? What are classics? I agree with Marty, I mean, in the classroom or any setting, really see what the kids like, what they're reading. What [00:38:00] books they just want to do a big, you know, or a big snore for them books where they see themselves reflected scholastic. 

com, frankly, has a lot of resources for people who are interested in discovering new titles and classic titles. And we know over and over and over again that when kids choose books. When they have that ability to choose books that they want to read that are grade appropriate, where they see themselves reflected, that are relatable, that are fun, they're motivated to read more. 

We do, every year we do a kids and family reading report at Scholastic just to quantify and codify this work. And so we're all about putting motivating titles for all readers, nonfiction, fiction, all types of diversity all types of inclusivity. You know, within a classroom library or any library really. 

Shannon Betts: Yeah, I learned this about seven, eight years ago when I was teaching second grade in a community suburb here in Atlanta. It's full of It's [00:39:00] where a lot of refugees are resettled, and it's, it's actually been named, like, the most diverse square mile in the United States, and like Marty said, like, you know, you have to look at the makeup of your class to know which books to choose, and at first, my class was not very diverse. 

My, my class library, like, my library looked like me. You know, and it was full of like books that I liked when I was a kid and things like that. And then I had gone to the public library. I think it was during Black History Month, and the Atlanta library used to have like all these titles like on top of the shelves, you know, and so I was waiting in line to check out. 

I saw all these like really cool Black History titles, and so I just grabbed a bunch of them and checked them out really fast. And then I put them out by the board the next day. And I had a student a refugee student who had just come from Africa. She knew like three words of English. I mean, we just mind to each other all the time. 

And when I put those books out there, she immediately grabbed one that morning and just was like pouring through the pages, like [00:40:00] so carefully. And then she tugs on my shirt and she goes, home. And like, I still tear up thinking about that story. And like, it was such an aha moment for me that I was like, Oh my goodness. 

Like I need every child to see home in their books. And so literally the next day I kept those books from the library, but then I wrote a donors choose grant. And, you know, I looked at every country that my kids were from and I made, you know, I had a lot of Burmese kids. I got a bunch of Burmese books. I had Muslim students. 

I got a bunch of Muslim books. And just so that, like, every ethnic group in my classroom had, like, three or four titles in that DonorsChoose. And I mean, that DonorsChoose was, like, funded within a day, you know? And I think we even had extra money left over, but I got a second project out of it, so. 

Judy Newman: Well, that is the mark of a wonderful teacher, by the way. 

Shannon Betts: And I, and I Well, it was a little too late, though. I mean, my previous classes didn't have that experience, but at least I did learn at some [00:41:00] 

Judy Newman: Yes, you did, didn't it? And I think the work that I do with classroom teachers mostly and what Marty's doing with pediatricians and, you know, it's about eliminating that frustration for them as well, because as Marty said, it's hard to get affordable books. 

And as you know, every classroom teacher and many pediatricians are buying things out of their own pocket, which is not sustainable. So this 35 for 35 eliminated or relieve that frustration that the doctors themselves couldn't give books, you know, that were relatable and which kids little. Children and their family saw themselves. 

So the same story keeps echoing. And that's a beautiful story though. 

Mary Saghafi: You know, I love that because that really does showcase Shannon as a teacher. It really does. It's an incredible I work as a private tutor right now. And so most of my students have dyslexia or other learning disabilities. And I, every time I start with a new student, I will give kind of a reading inventory and it has lots of emojis and it asks lots of questions about reading. 

And the last question [00:42:00] is how I, this is how I feel when I get a book that, that I enjoy. And there have been, I'm really glad I asked that question because there have been a handful of students who say, I've never found a book that's right for me. And that is such a telling thing. Question because it's not always apparent to the adults, it gives the, it gives students an opportunity to really tell you. 

And the answer may surprise you. And it may surprise you for a number of reasons. And it might not just be socioeconomic status, it might be that I'm, I feel so worthless because I am not a reader yet. And I'm not sure how I'm ever going to be a reader. And that's a really sad. Piece of our literacy story. 

But I do think that there are many teachers and many parents and many advocates who are working so hard to move away from from some sentiments or some experiences that that that are true for some people. [00:43:00] But one of the things that that kind of triggered to me was. There are a number of parents who may not have positive experiences with books and being sensitive to that, too, and allowing them some freedom to navigate writing a story in a way that is not exactly the way a teacher does, 

Shannon Betts: I think, 

Mary Saghafi: can be very powerful for a teacher to Model or for other parents in that situation. 

So I'm really glad that you expanded on that for doctors and how they can share that. But I wanted to just reiterate that again, because it does not need to look fancy. It needs to just be a connection. 

Marty Martinez: Right, right. And that's a great, that's a great point. And I think that really just resonates with the meeting families where they're at, right. 

Which I think is an important element to that and what they might need and want in that moment. And again, it's not always cut and dry in terms of, you know what people might, might [00:44:00] need. You don't know, right. Unless you're asking and those, and we're grateful, like teachers, our pediatricians and our clinicians. 

You know, many times know their community as well, right? And so they know, you know, what they're navigating and how they're trying to navigate. And so then they, those are the books they're looking for, right? Those are the titles that they want. Those are the families they're trying to serve. And that's really the, one of the powerful pieces of this is ensuring that. 

You know, people are able to see what's reflective and what's connected to them. You know, I, I didn't do anything with those before. I've gone to many, many clinics across the country and remember sitting with a clinic that was in in a Chinatown of us, of a large city and sat with the clinician and we were getting ready for a donor visit before the donor came. 

And I was talking to the nurse practitioner who delivers the model. And I said, Oh, do you have books here that we can show the donor? And he said he had them there, and I immediately became concerned because none of the books were in [00:45:00] Mandarin or Cantonese or simplified Chinese, and I said, oh, wait a minute do you have, do you not have books in Chinese? 

And he, and I knew the community well, and he said no, I don't, I don't, I don't have any books in Chinese. And I said, oh, well, we gotta, that's something we have to fix. And he said no. He said, you know, I've been at this clinic a long time and, and the kids who come into this clinic, their grandparents bring them into this clinic. 

And for the most part, the parents are working. It's mostly their grandparents who bring them to these visits. And then number one thing they want is for their kids to be reading English. And he goes, that's what they want. And that's ultimately they want to support their English development. He's like, so I want books in English. 

I don't want books in Tanzanian or Mandarin. And it was ironic because in my mind, in first glance, thinking about how to create access, I didn't think we've got to get folks in Chinese into this clinic. But that doctor knew best. That doctor knew his community, that doctor knew the families, and the doctor knew that it was those grandparents who were bringing those children in, who often didn't speak [00:46:00] English themselves. 

He knew that what they wanted was for their grandkids to have books in English that was going to help them strengthen their English skills and to be able to do that. So, it wasn't coming as much from an education perspective as it was, this is the need that the family wants, and this is the need that I'm going to help meet. 

So, I think, just like teachers, knowing that, you know, knowing your students, knowing your class, knowing your patients. Our model then is really that clinician really does help determine what is necessary here. What is this community want? And so I tell that story because you've got to dig a little bit deeper than that surface and it helps you understand it. 

And it helped me not, not be, you know, worried that the donor was coming, not going to see what the donor should be seeing. But the doctor being clear, the nurse practitioner being clear, this is what my family's want and this is what I'm going to give them. 

Shannon Betts: But hopefully there would be some titles with that any English with Chinese American children, right? 

Marty Martinez: And still community reflective. Exactly. had. He's like, oh no, community [00:47:00] reflective. 

Shannon Betts: Books set in Chinatown. 

Marty Martinez: Yes, but still in English because that's the language they were looking at. So you can accomplish both. To your point. 

 

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Shannon Betts: Feeling overwhelmed about all the demands of your students? Looking for more resources and strategies to help your readers? 

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Shannon Betts: We're here to help you and your students. 

 

 

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Shannon Betts:Do y'all have anything else you wanna share about book equity and reach out and read while we have you here? We've, this has been such a great conversation. 

Judy Newman: I'll let Marty have the last word, but I just wanna thank you so much for having us and airing this wonderful work and and for your work too. 

So thank you so much. 

Marty Martinez: Yeah, I would, I would echo that and I, I guess the only point I'd say from this great conversation, but to remind everyone is that access to diverse and reflective books, is a challenge in some places. And I wouldn't want to lose sight of the fact that in some communities and in some [00:49:00] places that every child gets to see themselves reflected in books. 

And sometimes you know, politics and other things make it even more complicated to make that happen. And so, given that, it's even more important to prioritize it, to work towards it, and to ensure that when a child opens a book it starts that journey that they see themselves and the communities that they're from because it's not always easy to do in some places across the country. 

Shannon Betts: Well, we appreciate the work you're doing. And I wanted to ask you, you kind of hinted at it earlier. What is your end goal? You said that, you know, at some point you want to be at 50 percent at the end of the year of children. I mean, is the goal 100 percent at some point? 

Marty Martinez: Yeah, we want to be at 50 percent of all children 5 and under by 2030. 

Okay. Which would be 10 million children in the United States. So we're at 4. 4. I think we're going to be a little bit, we'll be higher than that by the end of when our data comes out next month, but all children, we want to be population level, right? 

Shannon Betts: [00:50:00] When you go, you're not in my pediatrician's office. 

I mean, I don't think I'm your target, 

Marty Martinez: but every, every child is, but I hear you. I hear you. And, and I, and ironically, I will tell you, okay. You know, I was at a Cleveland, I was in a clinic in Oakland, California, and, and her mom said to me, why don't you reach out and read? We were at an event, and she saw and wanted to come by. 

I said, why don't you reach out and read? I've never heard of that. And I said, we gave out books in this clinic to children five and under. And she said, oh, my God, all my children have come here, and all my children have gotten books. And I had no idea that that was called reach out and read. I've been getting books for years from my pediatrician, and that's why I kept coming here. 

And so our brand sometimes isn't known, but most people will know that if they get a book from their clinician, we're really the only ones to do that across the country. And so that mom said, well, I'm so sorry. I don't know that I'm like, I don't care if you know that you're benefiting from what we're trying to do. 

And I'm glad that we just want every child to have that access. So that's what we're trying to make. 

Mary Saghafi: That's amazing. Well, we'll definitely link to the reach out and read website and, and some [00:51:00] of the other things that we chatted about in our show notes. so much for your time today and for your hard work on this initiative. 

It's really wonderful. And I'm a fan. Sounds great. Appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thank you.