Author James Patterson on increasing children's reading literacy to 'save thousands of lives'

Best-selling author James Patterson believes increasing childhood reading literacy will help "save thousands of lives."

The full-time Floridian has sold more than 400 million books, ranging from thrillers to even children's books. Some of his best-known work includes his Alex Cross series, which was made into an Amazon TV show.

He's also written and co-written more than 200 books, including "The President Is Missing" with former President Bill Clinton.

And he's donated tens of millions to help kids learn how to read. This includes millions to the University of Florida Literacy Institute. According to its website, it works to improve literacy for students by addressing both reader development and teacher development.

Patterson explores this work in a new public television documentary, "The Reading Reboot," which premieres Wednesday and will be available on YouTube and the PBS app.

On "The Florida Roundup," Patterson discussed how teaching kids to read has evolved over the years, the need for parental involvement and more.

A need to focus on increasing children's literacy

The National Assessment of Education Progress found that fourth-grade reading scores in the Sunshine State are at a 20-year low.

On "The Florida Roundup," Patterson blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for affecting students' progress. But he also thinks it's the way reading has been taught.

"It's old school. New school. Getting back to phonics," Patterson said. "Somewhere along the way, that was thrown out and that was a big mistake. That's the old school part of it."

ALSO READ: Empowering children and families: Coalition seeks to boost literacy rates, foster love for reading

Many of the teachers and principals featured in his new documentary discuss phonics. For example, St. Augustine's Ketterlinus Elementary School Principal Kathy Tucker said there was an inconsistency in educating teachers on how to navigate this subject with students.

"We had some stellar teachers who really were phonics-based, and they were fabulous. And then we had some other teachers that maybe weren't as strong," Tucker said. "Even at my own college education, we don't teach how to teach reading. I saw that with my teachers. There was such inconsistency. But for the student, it was kind of hit and miss. So what was lacking was the explicit phonics instruction. You really didn't highlight what was the new concept or skill that was going to be taught."

Patterson said he doesn't know how the teaching changed.

"Things happen sometimes. Somebody's at the head and they don't entirely understand what they should be doing, and that's what happened with reading," he said. "It was not useful and it just hurt people for a long, long time. They're not reading as much. They're not reading as many books and that doesn't help."

Patterson said the science of reading is a combination of understanding kids' backgrounds, how that changes even from school to school and getting people enthused.

In general, Patterson believes UF's program is what's changing things, and that's why he got involved.

"This program will save lives. When I was growing up, everybody could read. We lost our way, and we found it back," he said. "This program works. We have the vaccine. It's a controversial word. It shouldn't be, but we can fix this thing right now, which means we can save thousands of lives."

He added that increased literacy means the kids have more choices in life. He said that the teachers are excited, and he's had thousands of parents come up to him and thank him for the books he writes for kids and UF's program.

"They'll cry — not all of them, but many. They cry because it's heartbreaking if your kid is not learning how to read in school," Patterson said. "It's heartbreaking because that is not good for the welfare and future of your child."

Thoughts on Florida's educational policies and book restrictions

When it comes to the Sunshine State's educational laws, Patterson believes "Florida's heart is in the right place."

"Now we have to get their heads in the right place," he continued.

Florida has the "Reading Achievement Initiative for Scholastic Excellence Act," which aims to increase instructional support and give systematic reading strategies to develop phonemic awareness and more.

Patterson said he said the issue is ensuring the teachers can execute "the science of reading." He believes UF's program does that.

"If you have teachers that have been in the system for 20, 25 years, how wonderful and stimulating it is for them to get a second life here," Patterson said. "Because everybody — every teacher wants it to work. They want these systems."

In recent years, the Legislature and the governor have also approved the parent rights in education law, which expands parents' purview into curriculum use in classrooms. The state also tightened up on book restrictions — removing those deemed inappropriate.

USA Today reported back in 2023 that the Martin County School District removed Patterson's "Maximum Ride" series from its elementary school library, but it remained accessible for older students.

Patterson said there's "nothing controversial about the book" and that it's "about some kids who can fly." He described how that book has been read by 40 million kids and gets them reading.

He said the restrictions might hurt student's reading appetites a little bit, but every once in a while, there'll be a controversial book where the community needs to work it out on whether it'd be displayed.

"Your school library is not a dangerous place," Patterson said. "Their phone is dangerous. The media center, not so much."

Patterson supports parental involvement and believes it's important, but said, "for them to get in the way is the disaster."

"It is a participatory democracy. You want to hear what everybody has to think, and then the people have to go and do their thing," Patterson said. "And the teachers cannot be responsible to the parents in that classroom, in my opinion. Can't do that."

Why parental involvement is crucial

Patterson believes parents' involvement should mainly be focused inside the home.

"Take care of your own house," he said. "That's where the parental involvement should really happen in a big way. Make sure your kids are reading in your house in a reasonable way."

ALSO READ: How to cultivate a reading habit

He explained how, when his son was 8, they told him one summer he had to read every day. They went out and got around nine to 11 books he'd like and told him no screens until he read for 45 minutes to an hour.

"Suddenly, a lot of times he would read more than that. That was a deal," Patterson said. "You got to give them books that are going to turn them on. And I don't mean dumb books, books with good stories. And there are tons of them."

He said at home and in schools, the objective remains the same — get the kid reading. And help them get into the habit.

"If that's the whole ball of wax, do not give them stories and books that turn them off. Do not do that," Patterson said. "The parental involvement is huge. It really is welcome."

This story was compiled from interviews conducted by Tom Hudson for "The Florida Roundup."