The actual state where this took place escapes at this time, but it’s really not the point. What’s the point is that sometime in the not-too-distant past a study came out revealing that kids in households with books in them ultimately did better in school, earned more as adults, and all sorts of other things associated with happiness and wellbeing. Readers can probably guess where this is going.
Do-gooders in policy and politics ever eager to “do something” got to work on putting books in homes that lacked them. Falling test scores and downward mobility solved? It’s almost a waste of words to answer, but words will be wasted. Of course the problems weren’t solved. The do-gooders mistook causation. Books in homes didn’t magically make kids smart, as much as smart kids tend to read a lot.
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