Dear parents, teachers and educators,

Each time a child picks up a book, they enter a world of learning. It doesn’t matter if the main character is a young wizard, a famished caterpillar or someone who dreams of Paris. When children read, they discover new places and new ideas and develop literacy skills they will continue to use as they make their way through high school and beyond. We need to do more to encourage children to read. A key to building a strong foundation in literacy is allowing children to pick up the books they love. Far too many children lack the critical skills needed to engage with reading. Nearly 58% of the students in the Los Angeles Unified School District who took the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress failed to meet English language arts and literacy standards in 2018. In order to build a strong foundation for students, we must shrink this number. Reading opens doors to academic fulfillment, career readiness and opportunities throughout a child’s life. The L.A. Times Public Affairs department builds and mobilizes the connections and resources within the L.A. Times and the broader community to empower us to collectively act on issues defining our time. Youth literacy is one such issue and Reading by 9 is seeking to address it. The Reading by 9 annual parent reading guide was developed in partnership with Access Books, an independent nonprofit dedicated to renovating school libraries and ensuring that children have access to quality literacy resources. The guide, available in English and Spanish, is free — and has tips and ideas for incorporating reading into a child’s daily life. Its recommendations — books, local literacy resources and more — highlight the value of encouraging students to read books they are interested in. The guide is distributed to parents, teachers and educators throughout California with the help of community-based organizations and schools. It’s also available online at latimes.com/Readingby9. Thank you for reading!