Contact:

Anne Sparkman, Scholastic, asparkman@scholastic.com, 212-343-6657
Mike Barrett, Scholastic, mbarrett@scholastic.com, 212-343-6570

NEW YORK, NY – November 21, 2016 – Give the gift of reading this holiday season and turn kids into avid readers by keeping children’s books in every room of the home. The reason for having more books at home is found in a sneak peek of data from the soon to be released Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report™: 6th Edition from Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education and media company. The data reveals that children ages 6–17 who are frequent readers – those who read books for fun 5 – 7 days a week – are far more likely to have more books in the home than those who are infrequent readers – children who read books for fun less than one day a week. More than half (52%) of frequent readers have more than 100 books at home while just about three-quarters (73%) of infrequent readers have fewer than 100 books. The sneak peek also reveals where children’s books are found in homes nationwide – as well as top book series suggestions from parents. To learn more and download the infographic, “Children’s Books in the Home: Every Room Counts,” visit: www.scholastic.com/readingreport.

Other key findings from the upcoming Kids & Family Reading Report™ include:

How many children’s books are in the average home?

• On average, U.S. homes with kids ages 17 and under have 104 children’s books, yet more than 6 in 10 families (62%) have fewer than 100 children’s books in the home.

Where are children’s books in the home?

• Parents reported that their child’s bedroom (85%) is the most common place to find children’s books in their home. The family/living room (53%) and playroom (31%) follow as common places, but parents also shared that some of them have children’s books in their home office (15%), dining room (6%), bathroom (4%) and kitchen (3%).

What top children’s books do parents recommend?

• Parents of children ages 0–17 shared the top books and series they believe every kid should read including: Harry Potter, Dr. Seuss, The Magic Tree House and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

For even more ideas for holiday shoppers and to help find the right book for every child, Scholastic Reading Club editors created a “top book picks” list for every room in the home and every age group from ages 0-17. The full list is available at http://oomscholasticblog.com/post/holiday-gift-guide-build-children-s-book-library-every-room.  All titles are available for purchase via Scholastic Reading Club or the Scholastic Store at store.scholastic.com. 

“Our research shows there is a great opportunity to engage children in the power and joy of reading, especially reluctant readers, by rethinking where books reside in the home,” says Maggie McGuire, Vice President Scholastic Kids, Parents and Teachers Channels. “Take time this holiday season to tap into the more unlikely places your kids would expect to find books and transform daily routines into moments when kids can read for fun. For instance, in the bathroom you can begin reading aloud during bath time or add a magazine rack for books for older children. Revamp your home office or living room as a ‘shared library’, as our research shows preteens and teens are more likely to place their books here for leisure time. The ideas are endless.”

The Kids & Family Reading Report™ is a biannual report from Scholastic and managed by YouGov (http://research.yougov.com). Results are from a nationally representative survey of 1,675 parents and children including 632 parents of children ages 0-5; 1,043 parents of children ages 6–17, plus one child ages 6–17 from the same household, conducted September 19, 2016 through October 10, 2016. For the full methodology, see www.scholastic.com/readingreport.

For more information about Scholastic, visit //mediaroom.scholastic.com.