BORN READING

Don’t we all hope that every child – especially our own – becomes a devoted reader? That’s Jason Boog’s ambition with BORN READING: Raising Well-Read Babies in the Age of eBooks, Smartphones and Tablet Computers, with a foreword from the New York Public Library and beloved children’s book blogger Betsy Bird.

When Jason and his wife had their little girl, Olive, they knew that they would want her to enjoy a life of books, and that they’d be introducing her to books in a world full of screens and digital devices. Olive is now a lovely, patient toddler, who happily reads every day, and who later discusses in great detail the plots of her favorite books to her parents. Jason explains both their strategies for raising such a child, and why such an ambition is important. He speaks with doctors, world-renowned authorities on children’s literature, and child development experts, to discover the remarkable positive effects that reading can have on a child’s intellect, disposition, and relationship with their parents. He shows how anyone can do this, and why it is worth doing. This is a special, distinctive book, with opportunities to sell a tremendous number of copies both now and into the future, to parents who want to make sure that they focus appropriately on this essential – and under assault – element of their child’s life. Jason, who is especially well-connected and well-regarded, will promote his book tirelessly, with assistance from Betsy Bird, and I am sure that we will find many eager readers in this generation of parents, and in the generations of parents to follow. Jason Boog was a publishing editor at Mediabistro and lead editor of their popular blog on all things publishing, GalleyCat, for five years. His writing has been featured on NPR and in the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Believer, and Salon. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Boog lives in California with his wife and daughter. Visit him at JasonBoog.com.