TAMPA, Fla. — About 40% of students nationwide can’t read at a basic level. That’s according to the National Literacy Institute data from 2023.

The Chair of Communications Sciences and Disorders at the University of South Florida says part of the problem is insufficient screening.

She says 40 states require reading disability screening, but none require developmental language delay screening.

Her team is working on a screening kids can get during pediatric wellness visits to help identify reading problems.

“When we do early intervention at the early stages of reading, whether it is in preschool or kindergarten, they can have much better outcomes,” said Adelaida Restrepo, USF Communications Sciences and Disorders Chair.

She says parents also play an important part in spotting issues early.

Most of Jonah Kubach’s trips to the library begin with his mother, Priscila, asking him if he wants a regular book or an electronic one.

“He would read something at school, or one of his friends would tell him about a book. He would come and search for it. Sometimes, we just walk around,” Priscila Kubach said.

Soon, the Austin Davis Public Library will have a new children’s book to check out.

But Jonah already knows this story.

He wrote it.

It’s not just that he’s a published author at eight years old. His mom says getting Jonah to enjoy books at all was a challenge.

“He didn’t like to read or be read to, which was devastating. We would get pictures from his school, where everyone would be sitting in a circle reading the books with the teachers, and he’s the only one in the back,” said Priscila.

That’s when the library visits started.

Priscila was a mom on a mission, trying to find something Jonah would like.

“Sometimes, he would want us to read the dictionary, so we read the dictionary. Sometimes, he wanted us to read car reviews, so we read car reviews,” she said.

From there, it was onto books about planets and books about jokes. A typical haul these days is impressive.

“Eleven, 12, 13, 14 - but we still have some at home that we haven’t returned,” Priscila said.

She says they were at home this summer when “Milo’s Great Masterpiece” began.

“He just looked at me and said, ‘Mama, I want to write a book.’ And I said, ‘Right now — let’s go,’” she said.

Jonah told his mom the story, and she wrote it down. With a lot of work and some support from family and friends, they self-published last month.

Librarian Chely Cantrell says parents struggling to get their kids to read can try a few things: model behavior (make sure they see you reading), introduce them to magazines or audio books, and to be consistent.

“This is what we aspire to in life as librarians. This is what we go into this career for,” she said. “And then, we have tons of other things that you can check out from the library. Something I love is a Vox book. A Vox book is a picture book that reads to the kids simultaneously in the book.”

Priscila’s advice is to never give up.

“Don’t give up. It’s your child, and their childhood is when you’re supposed to make things happen,” she said.

Jonah’s journey shows that a few twists and turns can make the next chapter all the more sweet.

“Milo’s Great Masterpiece” is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.