HOUSTON — When it comes to kids and reading, the problem is actually pretty bad.
One study found in poorer neighborhoods, there is only one age-appropriate book for every 300 kids. That means there are a lot of homes that have absolutely no books and researchers found that the biggest predictor that a child would succeed was not race, income, gender, parent's education or location, but the mere presence of books in the home.
Experts believe the ability to read is so integral to everything we have to do as adults, that not being able to read can have some shocking results.
Eighty-five percent of kids who come into contact with the juvenile justice system are functionally illiterate. Seventy percent of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth-grade level; a real sign that learning to read and having access to books are the building blocks to a better future.