Reading for Our Lives: The Urgency of Early Literacy and the Action Plan to Help Your Child

Completely revised and updated! Now in paperback. An award-winning journalist and literacy advocate provides a clear, step-by-step guide to helping your child thrive as a reader and a learner

Today's children face intense pressure to meet rising academic standards and prepare for future careers, but most fall dangerously short. Early struggles with language and literacy often snowball into lasting disadvantages. Millions of U.S. kids don't learn to read well in elementary school, driving low adult literacy rates and threatening the nation's economic productivity, public health, and social equity.

In Reading for Our Lives, journalist Maya Payne Smart shows that the literacy crisis starts at home. Too many parents expect schools to unlock their child's reading potential, unaware that even the best classroom instruction (which most don't get) can't make up for weak early preparation or inconsistent support outside of school.

Smart breaks down the latest research to show parents how to do their part to build essential literacy skills. She busts the myth that bedtime stories are parents' greatest contribution to kids' reading development. She advocates instead for weaving a range of simple, fun, free literacy habits and activities into everyday family life--and shows you how to do it.

With optimism and evidence, Reading for Our Lives delivers a clear call to action and a path forward for families, schools, and communities to beat the literacy crisis together.

Author: Maya Payne Smart
Publisher: Avery Publishing Group
Published: 04/29/2025
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9780593544426

About the Author
Maya Payne Smart is a writer, parent educator and early literacy advocate. Her practical, evidence-based insights have been featured in major national media outlets including CBS Mornings, TIME, and PBS. She's a sought-after speaker who has presented keynote addresses and workshops for thousands of attendees at conferences nationwide within the library, early education, and K12 sectors. She and her family live in Milwaukee, where she serves as affiliated faculty in educational policy and leadership in the College of Education at Marquette University. Her website, MayaSmart.com, provides tips and tools for parents to nurture, teach, and advocate for kids on the road to reading.