Literacy and the love of reading is critical to economic and emotional development as well as individual and community well-being. Reading for fun increases literacy skills, builds empathy, and leads to academic achievement. Here are some helpful resources.
Reading for Fun
Bussiere, P., F. Cartwright, et al. (2001). Measuring up: The performance of Canada’s youth in reading, mathematics, and science. Statistics Canada.
Duncan, S. (2010). Understanding reading for pleasure for emerging adult readers National research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy (NRDC), Institute of Education, London.
Howard, V. (2011). The importance of pleasure reading in the lives of young teens: Self-identification, self-construction and self-awareness. Journal Of Librarianship & Information Science, 43(1), 46-55.
People for Education. (2011). Reading for Joy
The Reading Agency. (2015). Literature Review: The impact of reading for pleasure and empowerment.
Impact of Literacy
Community Literacy of Ontario. (2013). Painting a picture of literacy
Heisz, A., Geranda Notten and Jerry Situ. (2016). Insights on Canadian society: The association between skills and low income Statistics Canada.
Picard, Andre (2014, July) The simplest, cheapest way to give your child a healthy start. The Globe and Mail, July 2014
The Canadian Paediatric Society, (2006). Read, speak, sing: Promoting literacy in the physician’s office.