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Has your child cracked a book this summer?Although adults often jump at the chance to catch up on th Although adults often jump at the chance to catch up on their reading during vacations, many children and teenagers, particularly those from low-income families, read few, if any, books during the summer break from school. But the price for keeping the books closed is a high one. Several studies have documented a summer slide in reading skills once school lets out each spring. The decline in reading and spelling skills are greatest among low-income students, who lose the equivalent of about two months of school each summer, according to the National Summer Learning Association, an education advocacy group. And the loss compounds each year. Now new research offers a surprisingly simple, and affordable, solution to the summer reading slide. In a three-year study, researchers at the University of Tennessee found that simply giving low-income children access to books at spring fairs and allowing them to choose books that most interested them had a significant effect on the summer reading gap. The study, financed by the federal Department of Education, tracked the reading habits and test scores of more than 1,300 Florida children from 17 low-income schools. At the start of the study, 852 randomly selected first- and second-graders attended a school book fair in the spring where they were allowed to browse from 600 book titles. A variety of books were offered. The children chose 12 books. | 
