*Disclaimer: None of the people/animals pictured in this post actually expressed the opinions ascribed to them. At least not within my hearing. Though if you ask me, this moose has “literacy advocate” written all over him.
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| “So what’s all this I keep hearing about a ‘summer slide’? Sounds dangerous.” |
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| “I think I can explain. When students are out of school for the summer months, they lose some of the skills they learned throughout the year. Literacy levels, especially in low-income kids, tend to regress.” |
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| “That’s appalling! There must be something we can do to combat this!” |
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| “Yup. Give kids books. I’m lookin’ at you, librarians. Recent research shows that when kids have access to books over the summer months, their literacy levels improve dramatically. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? But the key word is access. A lot of kids from low-income families won’t have books in their hands unless librarians make an extra effort to put them there.” |
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| “That’s why it’s so important for libraries to have summer programming for kids. And it’s also crucial to give kids a choice in what books they read.” |
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| “Even if those books look like this. Kids make the best progress in literacy when they’re able to read what they want.” |
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| “Isn’t it lucky that Lerner publishes so many fun, addictive books? Like all these new and upcoming releases from Lerner Publications?” |
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| “You had to go and add the plug, didn’t you? Couldn’t just let this be a simple public service announcement.” |
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| “Hey, folks, no need to bicker! Let’s get back to reading!” |