'You learn to read so that you can read to learn,' JoCo author's new book aims to inspire young readers

LENEXA, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas, including Olathe and Lenexa. Share your story idea with Olivia.

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The "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign continues this week. Annually, KSHB 41 partners with the Scripps Howard Fund to raise money to provide free books to students who may not have access to books at home.

A Johnson County author is using his own childhood story to make the case for getting books back into kids' hands.

Alex Kirkland's latest book, Frosted Tips, is rooted in his early 2000s summers at Shawnee Mission Park — a time before smartphones and social media, when he spent his days at the park or with a book in hand.

"I started thinking about my time here at Shawnee Mission Park when I was 11, 12, 13 years old at summer camp, and the nostalgic factor," Kirkland said.

KSHB

Those experiences became the foundation for the book, but Kirkland's love of storytelling took root around that same age too.

"In grade school, yes, I loved storytelling. I loved being able to put words on paper and kind of draft these little short stories," Kirkland said.

For Kirkland, reading did more than entertain — it taught him how to write, both skills he hopes to inspire in Johnson County kids today.

"So many different things that you can learn from a book rather than on a screen," Kirkland said.

KSHB

The message comes at a critical time for childhood literacy. The National Assessment of Educational Progress found that the share of 13-year-olds who read for fun has declined by nearly half since 2012.

Thirteen was a transformative age for Kirkland, and he hopes his story resonates with the next generation.

"You learn to read so that you can read to learn, and you can always pick up a book and again learn something," Kirkland said.

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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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