RIF's Erin Bailey Featured in Education Insider Magazine

Erin Bailey, Ed.D., Vice President of Literacy Programs and Research at Reading Is Fundamental, was recently featured in Education Insider magazine's Insights section. Bailey also helps leadcontent strategy and author relations for August House Publishers, the children's publishing imprint owned by RIF, giving her a unique vantage point on both literacy advocacy and publishing. Her essay, "Keeping Stories Alive Across Generations," explores how publishers can honor cultural authenticity while helping stories reach new generations of readers. 

What Is the Article About? 

The article looks at how children's publishers can balance tradition and innovation as they bring stories to new generations of readers. Drawing on her background in child and adolescent literacy and her experience reviewing hundreds of new children's books each year, Bailey writes that publishing became another way to advance the work that first drew her to the field: helping children become lifelong readers. She explains that evaluating a book means looking beyond whether it tells a good story to consider how it can invite a child into reading, spark curiosity and build confidence. 

A central theme of the piece is meeting young readers where they are. Bailey writes that there is no single pathway to becoming a reader: some children find their way in through a traditional picture book, while others connect first with a graphic novel, an eBook or another format that captures their interest. She argues that publishers should focus less on competing with other forms of entertainment and more on giving children both choice and access, so they can discover books that reflect their own interests, experiences and everyday lives. That freedom to choose, she writes, is what builds the motivation to keep reading over a lifetime. 

She also discusses how folklore and oral storytelling traditions offer a model for modern publishing: the details of a story can evolve through new formats and fresh illustrations, but its cultural heart and meaning should stay intact. On technology, Bailey argues that tools like audio narration and read-aloud features work best when they deepen a child's connection to a story rather than replace it. 

Why It Matters for Families and Educators 

Bailey's perspective reinforces a principle central to RIF's mission: helping children become lifelong readers takes more than access to books. It takes stories that reflect a range of experiences and formats that invite children to engage on their own terms. Her feature offers families, educators and fellow publishers a thoughtful look at what it takes to keep stories meaningful across generations. 

Read Erin's full feature in Education Insider magazine here.