Learning to read is probably the most difficult and revolutionary thing that happens to the human brain and if you don’t believe that, watch an illiterate adult try to do it. – John Steinbeck

It was disheartening to learn that a study conducted in late April by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy found that 32 million adults – 14 percent of the population — in our nation can’t read. Among high school graduates, 19 percent can’t read; and 21 percent of adults in the U.S. read below a 5th grade level. Only 29 percent displayed a “basic” reading level. The U.S. illiteracy rate hasn’t changed in 10 years.

Illiteracy impacts so many aspects of society in general and countless individual lives. It denies people economic security, access to health care, and the ability to actively participate in civic life. Illiteracy is often a legacy handed down from one generation to another; parents who don’t read are much more likely to have children who don’t read.

For those of us who love reading, it may seem unimaginable that others are so diminished by their inability to read. What we need to understand is that, like many skills, there is an optimal period of brain maturation in which to develop reading skills. For many reasons, children may miss learning to read during this period, finding themselves illiterate by the time they graduate from high school. Having lost the chance to fall in love with reading at a young age, they may feel unable to learn this crucial skill and lack the motivation to take on the challenge.

Schools and libraries have developed programs to encourage reading and to help those struggling to become literate. As booklovers, there are some things each of us can do to support literacy. We can read to the children in our lives. We can volunteer at schools, libraries, houses of worship and other places that offer literacy mentorships. We can also get involved with World Book Night, an annual celebration dedicated to spreading the love of reading, person to person.

Each year on April 23 –Shakespeare’s birthday– tens of thousands of people in the U.S. go out into their communities and give a total of half a million free World Book Night paperbacks to light and non-readers. World Book Day is celebrated in the UK and Ireland by giving schoolchildren a book token. World Book Night was introduced in 2011 in the UK and Ireland to bring attention to books for adult readers.

With its launch in 2012, World Book Night U.S. chose to continue the focus on adult readers,
with a few books for teens and middle readers included. Many, many other wonderful programs already exist to get books to young children, and they are essential. But World Book Night U.S. fills another important need: Encouraging reading in the teen and adult population, especially those who may not have access to printed books for reasons of means or geography.

The goal of World Book Night is to seek out adult readers wherever they are, in towns and cities, in public settings or in places from nursing homes to food pantries, low-income schools to mass transit. We owe it to our society to help lift others out of illiteracy. As booklovers – readers, writers, editors, agents, publishers, booksellers, librarians and teachers – we can join World Book Night to spread the love.