Raising Readers is ending March 2024.

After 23 years of making books and reading part of growing up in Maine, Raising Readers will conclude at the end of the year. As we close the book on this pioneering program, here’s some information on other early literacy programs in Maine:

Reach Out and Read: Like Raising Readers, Reach Out and Read provides books in primary care. Learn more here.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: Families can sign up to receive books through the mail every month. Learn more here.

Here’s an FAQ including answers to other questions you might have.

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We’d like to thank the many people who made Raising Readers the national success and statewide treasure it is. 

We’re grateful to the Libra foundation for funding the program in its entirety, totaling $25 million, for over two decades. With these funds and the help from the vast network of hundreds of clinical staff and healthcare providers in Maine, we reached over 360,000 Maine children with nearly 4 million high-quality, developmentally appropriate books at birth and at each well-child visit through age five. 

We also share our gratitude for the many community partners across the state who champion the power of reading aloud to Maine’s youngest citizens.

Last but not least, we thank families and caregivers. The hours spent reading aloud to our babies, no matter how old, make books more than part of a bedtime routine or a way to pass the time, but an experience. Forever and always, when children snuggle up with someone they love to hear a good story—this is where a child’s lifelong love of books and reading begins.