State cuts early literacy funding, but pediatricians persist

FEDERAL WAY – When the pediatrician handed her 1-year-old a book at their most recent checkup, Brittany Phillips noticed her daughter looking intently at the doctor and pictured the wheels turning in her little head.

“She’s looking at (the doctor) like, ‘Do I? Is this OK?’” Phillips recalled. “And intently trying to, I don’t know, I guess form a little bit of a bond, or something, like, ‘Are you a safe person? Can I take this thing from you?’”

Going to the doctor can be scary for kids, especially when they’re young and due for an array of shots to protect against diseases like measles and polio. But a book can calm a child’s nerves, Phillips said.

Bonus: It keeps a little kid occupied. Even if they’re just chewing on it.

The book Phillips’ daughter received was part of a partnership between Pediatrics Northwest and Reach Out and Read, an organization that distributes books to children from infancy through age 5 at their well-child checkups.

And medical providers say there are benefits to providing books in checkups that go beyond calming and entertaining little kids.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has endorsed the Reach Out and Read model, which pairs a free book at each wellness visit with guidance to parents about the importance of reading to children. The academy recommends that pediatricians encourage families to read to children starting at birth and at least through kindergarten.

Reading frequently to young children reinforces their relationships with parents and caregivers “at a critical time in child development” and helps set children up for healthy social-emotional, cognitive, language and literacy development, according to the academy.

Nationally, 37% of parents report reading to their infant or toddler every day. According to the Pew Research Center, 54% of U.S. parents with a child 12 or younger said in a May 2025 survey that making sure their children read or are read to is one of their biggest priorities. Another 37% say it is a priority, but not a big one.

Reach Out and Read Northwest, the regional affiliate, relies largely on private funding to distribute thousands of books each year to 230 clinics across Washington in 30 counties. In the 2025 fiscal year, 122,000 Washington kids received 238,000 books. The program offers books in 26 languages.

But the program’s work in Washington got a blow this year when the state Legislature eliminated a $300,000 pot of yearly state funding — a 19% cut to its annual budget.

Some private funding from the Roots & Wings Foundation is covering about two-thirds of that loss through mid-2027, but that’s a one-time donation, said Jessica Mortensen, regional executive director at Reach Out and Read Northwest.

More than its cover

For a pediatrician, a book isn’t just a book.

It can be a tool for assessing a child’s development, said Dr. Mary Ann Woodruff, Washington medical director for Reach Out and Read Northwest, and the medical director of care transformation at Pediatrics Northwest, which has several clinics in the South Puget Sound region.

“In a well-child visit, I want the book over the stethoscope,” Woodruff said. “I don’t have to make that choice, but I learn more from the book.”

Does the child look at the book? Do they point? Do they respond when their parent points to a picture in the book? Are they sitting up? Woodruff may be able to detect that a young child isn’t using one side of their body the same way as the other, or that they might be struggling to hear.

Since most children under 5 have a wellness checkup, those appointments are one way to reach many kids.

The gesture can build trust with parents and shows the provider cares for the family as a whole, Woodruff said.

“Otherwise you feel judged,” Woodruff said. “You’re coming in and presenting this human, like, ‘Are they OK?’ And so we’re turning it around, saying, ‘Tell us their strengths.’”

Woodruff recalled a 5-year-old boy, who, when his mom reminded him of his upcoming appointment, mused that Woodruff was probably at the store at that moment picking up a book for him.

“What it said to me is he knew I cared deeply about him. … I think that’s … as powerful as developing language,” Woodruff said.

Connecting reading and health

Due to the state funding cut, Reach Out and Read Northwest won’t fill a vacant position that helps manage the program in clinics.

Dr. Kevin Murphy, CEO of Pediatrics Northwest, said the funding cut likely won’t change the day-to-day practice of children getting books in their clinics, but it could diminish how efficient the program is.

“That seamless infrastructure, the safety net and foundation that makes it seem like it just happens magically, that’s now tenuous,” he said.

Reach Out and Read staff support and coach pediatric clinics, including help with ordering books and day-to-day management of the program. Reach Out and Read also trains clinicians on how to talk to families about reading to children and how to use the book as part of the developmental supports offered in checkups.

Many of the program’s private funders prefer to invest in programs that receive support from public dollars, and philanthropy is already under strain, Mortensen said.

It’s certainly true that you can get a litany of books for free at the library, or in your neighborhood through Little Free Libraries.

But research has shown that a “two-generation” approach like the one Reach Out and Read uses is necessary “to benefit the home environment and the literacy-related behaviors and skills of children,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Murphy added that Reach Out and Read connects literacy to health.

“When a pediatrician brings reading into every single health visit, it correlates those together, foundationally,” Murphy said. “That can’t happen at the library or at school.”

Visit st.news/FindFreeBooks to see our guide on where to find free books for kids in the Seattle area.