Thursday, May 19, 2011

Getting books to kids

There's plenty of talk about ebooks and ereaders and getting fancy kids books onto the iPad—all of it fun and exciting, for readers and for publishers. But maybe we need to think about the rest of our economy, about the people who don't have a Kindle or a Nook or an iPad. Who maybe don't have access to a library. Who maybe don't have a single book in their house. There are people trying to do something about this.

David Bornstein writes for the NY Times:

"Some 42 percent of American children — more than 31 million — grow up in families that lack the income to cover basic needs like rent, child care, food and transportation... In bookstores, most hardcover children’s books sell for $15 to $20, with paperbacks typically running from $5 to $10. Although lower cost titles are available, the pricing of books — especially the most popular and attractive children’s books, as well as baby board books — puts regular book buying out of reach for low-income families."

Learn more at A Book in Every Home, and Then Some.

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