Reach Out and Read-Alabama clinicians write a prescription for
summer reading

Reach Out and Read-Alabama hosts an annual summer campaign to encourage families to read together with a chosen book as inspiration. Copies of the book are distributed by pediatric healthcare providers statewide throughout the summer months.

Across 16 summers, the Rx for Summer Reading has featured a variety of beloved characters and stories, including a hungry caterpillar, dancing barnyard animals, a big red dog in a storm, a bunny visiting the doctor, a superhero kid, a sleepy tiger, a cat in sunglasses, a cookie-eating mouse, a curious monkey, and some playful kids. Each book is chosen on the basis of “finding the right book at the right time” with a focus on what is happening in the world around us and helping families forge closer bonds while building the empathy and resilience that children will rely on throughout their lives.

The Rx for Summer Reading campaign was launched 16 years ago as part of the national Reach Out and Read initiative, Summer of a Million Books. Our inaugural campaign highlighted the beloved book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In that first year, 32 program sites hosted engaging events and distributed over 3,000 books to families throughout the state. The event was a tremendous success for the families we serve, and our program sites have continued this cherished campaign every summer since.

Join Reach Out and Read-Alabama from
June 1 - July 31 for the 17th annual Rx for Summer Reading.
Click to learn more.

In 2006, what began as an idea - a seed - has blossomed into something beautiful - a flower - over the last 20 years. Just as Lola’s flower garden evolves over time, Reach Out and Read-Alabama has also flourished, planting the love of reading into the minds of children and families across the state the last 20 years!

How does your garden grow? Book-loving Lola is inspired by a collection of garden poems that she reads with her mommy. She wants to plant her own garden of beautiful flowers, so she and Mommy go to the library to check out books about gardening. They choose their flowers and buy their seeds. They dig and plant. And then they wait. Lola finds it hard to wait for her flowers to grow, but she spends the time creating her own flower book. Soon she has a garden full of sunflowers and invites all of her friends for cakes and punch and a story amongst the flowers.