It is, literally, just what the doctor ordered. Last month, the ABA launched its 2001 Prescription for Reading program, created in conjunction with BookSense, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and Koen Book Distributors. The literacy initiative pairs independent booksellers with pediatricians and other local health-care providers, who will distribute "prescription" coupons to their patients, redeemable at the participating bookstore for a promotional paperback copy of A Book for Honey Bear: Reading Keeps the Sighs Away. This picture book, created for the program by Audrey Wood, imparts the message that is at the heart of the venture: the importance of reading to children at least 20 minutes each day.

This summer's program is the second of its kind. In November 1997, the ABA joined with Scholastic to distribute promotional copies of Rosemary Wells's Read to Your Bunny through a similar arrangement between booksellers and pediatricians. Oren Teicher, the ABA's chief operating officer, described that earlier program as "wildly successful" and noted that these initiatives are based on the successful work of the Boston-based organization Reach Out and Read. Under the directorship of Dr. Barry Zuckerman, this group has determined through extensive research that reading to very young children enhances their overall intellectual, emotional and physical development.

In Teicher's words, Prescription for Reading aims to "help booksellers provide a service to their community, while broadening their customer bases. Along with the free copy of A Book for Honey Bear, parents bringing their coupons into bookstores will receive a list of other suggested books to read to their children, in hopes that they will get into the habit of reading together regularly and perhaps return to the store to buy another book."

At S&S Children's Publishing, v-p of marketing Suzanne Murphy reported that booksellers' reaction to Prescription for Reading has been overwhelmingly positive and that "from all perspectives, the program is running very smoothly." S&S has produced 100,000 copies of the promotional edition of Wood's book. To each bookseller that signs on, Koen Book Distributors will ship 100 copies of the book, along with 125 "prescription" coupons to personalize with the store's name and other promotional materials. The program ends on September 30, after which booksellers must donate any unclaimed copies of the book to a nonprofit organization of their choice. In November, S&S will publish a paper-over-board edition of A Book for Honey Bear under its Little Simon imprint.

"This is really a win-win situation," Murphy said. "This is a great way to establish relationships with independent booksellers. This is a literacy initiative, but it is also driving traffic into bookstores. And obviously this is great promotion for our forthcoming hardcover edition of the book."

As the spokesperson for Prescription for Reading, author Tom Bodett, host of public radio's Loose Leaf Book Company, is clearly bullish on the program. In his words, the program is "the coolest thing to happen to kids since the polio vaccine. Reading cures boredom, promotes imagination and prevents empty-headedness. Doctors and parents know that reading is good medicine." And it surely goes down more easily than most.