Press

"But what about the decades’ worth of students who were, and still are, passed into fourth grade and beyond when they can’t read at — nor often anywhere near — grade level?"

"Storyshares is a movement born out of a fundamental realization: we cannot tackle the literacy crisis by doing the same thing that has always been done."

“It’s an absolute wasteland,” said Jamie Class, a special education teacher in Southern California. Class recently started using a new series of decodable chapter books published by the company Storyshares, and has also written some of her own materials."

"Developed in partnership with Storyshares, this exciting expansion to the popular 95 Readables decodable chapter book collection was designed to integrate seamlessly with 95 Phonics Core Program® and other curricula based in the science of reading."

"We have always been focused on bridging relevance and readability. Now, thanks to Adaptive Reader, we can meet readers in their home language and support them with even more accessible and decodable features grounded in the science of reading — while keeping the powerful experience of books in hand."

"Too often, older struggling readers are left with few resources that meet their unique needs—books that are either too simple for their age or too complex for their reading level. Storyshares is tackling that challenge head-on."

"Enter Louise Baigelmen, who has done something. This former teacher saw the need up close, and she got to work, creating Storyshares, a literacy organization that aims to ignite a love for reading in adolescents and teens—by providing engaging and exciting books at both their reading level and their maturity level."

"Why YA early readers could save our nation’s literacy"

"By providing compelling choices for every reader, Storyshares opens pathways for students beyond grade 3 to improve their literacy skills — and become lifelong readers."

"The Story of the Year contest is all about creating more book choices for the 774 million striving teen and young adult readers around the world.”

"The innovative Storyshares series expands literacy opportunities for adolescent learners, addressing long-standing gaps in reading instruction. By focusing intentionally on this age group and their educators, Really Great Reading is working to mitigate the literacy crisis by providing meaningful, structured resources that support lasting reading development."

"With recent data showing that approximately 70% of 4th and 8th graders are not reading proficiently, this is more needed now than ever. The importance of teaching our nation’s children to read is something we should all agree on, across any party lines,” says Louise Baigelman, founder and CEO of Storyshares."

"How can we make reading accessible & engaging for all students? 📚 Louise Baigelman of Storyshares shares how her team works closely with teachers to create high-interest books for struggling readers. Listen now!"

"An informational Q+A with Louise Baigelman, CEO of Storyshares, a literacy organization focused on dreaming up new books to spread a love of reading across the globe."

"Have a struggling reader? Try these tips. Learn how to help kids with dyslexia improve their reading skills with adolescent literacy expert Louise Baigelman."

"Determined to find a solution, I developed the first and only sustainable solution to reimagine the global library for striving readers at any age, bringing together and training a community of diverse authors to craft stories that are representative, intriguing, AND accessible for those students who still need books to practice."

"More companies are springing up to create reading materials specifically for Gen Alpha audiences, like Storyshares, which offers books written by young people themselves." (full article behind paywall)

"We’re so lucky to have some great guests with us today to discuss your entrepreneurial journey and so much more."

"Louise Baigelman has loved books since she was a child. “Any walls that my parents could turn into bookshelves, they did,” says Baigelman (SED’11). But she also learned early on that many people didn’t have the kind of access to literature that she had."

“Being chosen as a 30 Under 30 for my work with Storyshares is so exciting," Baigelman said in a press release. “It means a lot to know that others in the field agree that we are on to something here. We know how much of an impact Storyshares can make, and feel energized by this vote of confidence from others.”

"As a young college graduate working for Teach for America, Louise Baigelman ’09 was struck by a prevalent problem in low-income schools: students both struggled with reading and dreaded it. As the cofounder of “Storyshares” — a digital library that provides age appropriate reading materials to lower level students, aiming to get them excited about literature — Baigelman’s efforts have reached students in 44 states and 26 countries, according to Forbes."

"Consider the amount of text you’ve encountered today: signs, instructions, emails… this article. Imagine not being able to read any of it."

"Founded by Haverford native Louise Baigelman, Storyshares helps boost literacy rates by supplying students with age-appropriate stories they actually want to read."

"Episode 54 brings us an excellent conversation with Story Shares Founder, Louise Baigelman. Story Shares is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to dreaming up a new shelf in the global library filled with diverse, compelling, and accessible books to engage & inspire the millions of underrepresented teens and adults and transform them into readers."

"Many professors, even at elite colleges, also report that today’s college students have limited vocabularies compared to earlier generations, and they cannot analyze complex concepts. “By the time they get to college, these students have developed workarounds for reading full-length novels or texts to access information, and they have lost the habits required to sustain reading as a meaningful practice,” Louise Baigelman, founder of Storyshares, a mission-driven publisher that is addressing global illiteracy, confirms to Parents."

"Developed in partnership with Storyshares, a literacy company focused on providing new content to empower and support reading growth for older students, 95 Readables chapter books are available in classroom sets of five or six copies of each book."

"Storyshares is set to spark creativity and inspire literacy with the launch of its 7th annual Story of the Year Contest, running until January 13, 2025."

"For me, the most motivating force is getting to see the transformation that happens when reluctant readers discover the joy of reading—when they can finally find stories that resonate with their interests and identities and begin to rethink their identities as readers."

"A few months ago, Gov. Maura Healey announced “Literacy Launch,” an initiative to improve early literacy education “from age 3 to grade 3.” While commendable and necessary for this younger subset of students, this initiative only addresses a piece of the puzzle."

"I sometimes joke that I am an “accidental entrepreneur” and that Storyshares is an “accidental publisher.” It was a fortunate series of events that led me to build Storyshares, a small company which has already had several phases and which has become the defining purpose of my career."

Storyshares seeks to raise reading levels of forgotten tweens, teens and adults: Across the nation, reading and literacy proficiency is at an all time low. One program seeks to change the narrative.

"What functional illiteracy feels like for teenagers." (full article behind paywall)

"For adolescent students, although they need to learn the same skill sets as elementary-school students to become strong readers, how they build those skills needs to be different."

"Storyshares is building the first shelf in the library for those millions of students who are being overlooked; to reimagine the experience for older students learning how to read."

"Learn about the Storyshares approach to diverse and accessible libraries on the EdTech Insiders podcast!"

"Learn about StoryShares and their wonderful high interest/low reading level books."

"At Storyshares, we are not selling a product, we are providing a solution to a problem that is massive and yet all-too-often overlooked and ignored."

"Dr. Jennifer McCarty Plucker, Director of Learning and Development with Mackin in conversation with Sarah Hartley from Orca Book Publishers and Louise Baigelman from Storyshares around supporting adolescent readers who are still emerging in their literacy skills."

"Until just a few months ago, there were no suitable or effective 'learn-to-read' books written for older students. As more age-appropriate content becomes available, we need to create a new shelf in the library filled with books that are culturally inclusive, intriguing and accessible for students at any intersection of age and reading level."