Many people have asked me if our books are available in electronic form. The answer
to that question is that at this time our books are available in print format only, for very specific reasons.
The fist reason is about the critical link between the brain and eye-hand coordination. Hands-on books
contribute to active learning in ways that just looking at a screen does not.
Based on recent data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments found
that roughly 66% of 4th-grade students in the U.S. are not proficient in reading, with 2024 data showing
only 34% at or above proficiency. For 8th graders, over half are not reading proficiently. These figures
represent significant declines in literacy levels following the pandemic.
A February headline in Fortune Magazine states:
The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation
less cognitively capable than their parents
Earlier this year, in written testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath said that Gen Z is less cognitively capable than
previous generations, despite its unprecedented access to technology. He said Gen Z is the first generation
in modern history to score lower on standardized tests than the previous generation.
“Ultimately, the loss of critical thinking and learning skills is less of a personal failure and more of a
policy one, calling the generation of Americans educated with gadgets victims of a failed pedagogical
experiment.”
Written Word Publications, LLC created these books before some of this research was available.
Another reason that I created these books was as a tool to connect classrooms and living rooms, parents
and teachers. When the books are introduced in the classroom and children bring them home to read to
family members, we saw the excitement about providing health and safety information to their families,
as well as an excitement about becoming better readers.
Relations, Relevance and Rigor promote learning according to research by the Gates foundation.
We see it in action with our books!