A recent column by David Brooks in the New York Times cites a study where researchers sent books home with disadvantaged students for summer reading.  After doing this for three years, they found that these students had significantly higher reading scores than other students. Brooks goes on to talk about other indicators supporting the tremendous power of books when it comes to literacy, especially as it compares to learning from the Internet.

It’s no surprise that I’m a strong supporter of reading books as a way to open all kinds of doors, both to learning and communication, and Brooks’s article is an interesting analysis of how reading literary works differs from spending time searching for and reading information on the Internet. You may want to read the article, then head to your nearest library and sign up for their summer reading program if you haven’t already done so. Multnomah County library, which is the library that services my area, even has a summer reading program for adults, so everyone in our family can sign up.

Your local library probably also has lots of ideas for what to read as well, and don’t forget to check out the book lists on this site. The title I list and review are good not only for mother-daughter book clubs, but for individual readers as well.