Socioeconomic inequities and "book deserts" prevent children in the poorest U.S. communities from developing proficient literacy skills and a habit of reading, which leads to persistent educational inequities, a report from Room to Read finds.

The report, MISSING OUT: Education Inequality for U.S. Children Deepened by Book Deserts and Lack of Diverse Representation in Children's Literature (29 pages, PDF), found that access to books — as measured by the number of books in the home — correlates significantly with higher reading scores; yet at least half of homes across the United States have fewer than a hundred books and 61 percent of low-income homes have no books for children. These "book deserts" disproportionately affect Black, Latinx, Native, and white Americans living in poverty and/or in rural areas.

Funded by Tatcha, the report also found that diversity in children's literature is significantly lacking; 83.4 percent of children's books are about white characters, animals, or things; 44 percent are about white characters, while only 6.8 percent are about Black characters, 5 percent are about Asian characters, 3.5 percent are about Latinx characters, and 1.2 percent are about Indigenous characters.

The report highlights geographic regions for each underserved community, including the Deep South Corridor (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas), Michigan, and South Carolina for Black Americans; Central California, the Southwest border region (Arizona and New Mexico), and Texas for Latinx Americans; the Great Plains (North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska), Alaska, Southwest and West regions (Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico), and eastern Oklahoma for Native Americans; and Central Appalachia (West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee), the Deep South Corridor, and northern Michigan for white Americans. In addition, the report notes that immigrants and refugees and children in foster care are among the most underserved and vulnerable groups of children who lack access to books and literacy services.

"Every child deserves the opportunity to benefit from books as gateways to learning and positive life outcomes," said Room to Read CEO Geetha Murali. "Room to Read's collection of over thirty-two hundred high-quality children's book titles and adaptations in forty-three languages, with supporting guidance for educators and families to use these books in the classroom and at home, is a cornerstone of our approach to fostering a habit of reading among children and inspiring future leaders."