Nonprofit partners with Cobb Barnes & Noble stores to promote childhood literacy

Dec. 21—This holiday season, two Barnes & Noble stores are distributing books to pediatric partners in Cobb County through a partnership with a national nonprofit.

Reach Out and Read promotes reading for children from birth to five years of age by providing free books to pediatricians, who then distribute them to patients. The organization also trains pediatricians to discuss with parents the central role of reading in childhood brain development at a child's first 15 well visits, according to Amy Erickson, the organization's executive director.

"We feel that parents are very receptive to getting information, receiving information about their child's health and well-being in the context of a well-visit check-up, versus when they're sick," Erickson said.

Dr. Angela Hall introduced Reach Out and Read to an Atlanta-based community health center where she worked prior to taking over a Cobb practice in 2007.

She later implemented the program at her own practice, Pearl Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine in Powder Springs, in 2018. Since then, she has distributed more than 1,700 books during more than 2,400 well visit checkups.

Hall said she mainly cares for children in working-class families from underserved populations. About 30% are bilingual. She first introduces books to the families at a child's six-month-old checkup.

"A lot of our parents, they don't have that background, so when I bring out a book for them to read, I say, 'It's a time for you to bond with your kids, give me 30 minutes a day, that's all I ask,'" Hall said.

Hall said that in the age of electronics, it's more important than ever that parents read to their children and encourage them to read themselves as they get older.

"I find that when they read to their children, their communication is so much better, their language skills are so much better," Hall said.

Cobb is one of 72 counties in Georgia served by Reach Out and Read, and in three Cobb practices, more than 24,000 books have been distributed since 2006. Most of those (22,150 books) have been distributed by Decatur Pediatrics in Smyrna, the longest running Reach Out and Read partner in Cobb, according to Erickson.

Hall gives children's books at the eight checkups that follow the first, and also has a selection for children older than 5.

"I want to be able to also serve those who are older, in elementary school years, so by the time they get to middle school, they like to read," Hall said.

Hall added that since the COVID-19 pandemic, she has noticed during developmental screenings that many children are delayed in their speaking and social interaction skills.

She tells parents they can make up the deficit through reading.

Hall first received a donation from Barnes & Noble in 2017 and still has a sign up in her office marking the date. Five years later, she will receive another donation just in time for the holidays.

Books, she said, are the key to unlocking children's imaginations and creative spirits. Especially in a time when so much has been uncertain in young children's lives, being able to offer what Reach Out and Read has made possible at her practice, she said, is a gamechanger.

"Being able to come here, get a book, parents are able to read with them and bond with them, those make a big difference in the development of your child," Hall said.

Books can be purchased and donated to local pediatricians through Barnes & Noble's Avenue West Cobb location, 3625 Dallas Highway Suite 400, Marietta, GA 30064, and the Cumberland location, 2952 Cobb Parkway SE, Atlanta, GA 30339.