On-grade level reading by the end of third grade is not only linked to future academic success, but to lower dropout, incarceration and poverty rates as well. On the 2013 state reading exam, 24 percent of Houston’s third graders scored at an unsatisfactory level. "Book Buddies" addresses this issue by helping children develop their own internal motivation to read, providing them with individual and undivided attention from an older mentor trained in best practices around reading.

Book Buddies" creates a community of readers and library users, bringing together children and their caregivers, teen and adult volunteers and our library staff. It creates a positive reading environment rooted in access, choice and pleasure, developing children’s reading identities and families’ literacy habits of visiting the library and reading at home. Additionally, the program provides a meaningful volunteer opportunity for community members and it often serves as a gateway into our other library services.

Harris County Public Library has served over 100 families since piloting the program in the spring of 2016, and we plan to offer "Book Buddies" at 25 locations this fall to reach even more communities. Our most recent survey results showed that 100 percent of parents/guardians either strongly agreed or agreed that their child reads more at home and that their child’s interest in and love of reading increased since participating in the program.