That alarming literacy trend has caught the attention of lawmakers \u2014 along with Cox and Utah first lady Abby Cox, who have made reading one of their shared, primary objectives.<\/p>\n
All the students who participated in Friday\u2019s book drop event received a copy of the book \u201cLouder than Hunger\u201d by John Schu, who also delivered a hyper-energetic message about the power of reading and writing at Friday\u2019s Bryant Middle School event.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/7VFTQLZ7FBHWZEOK2QWKOXAWDI.JPG\")
Author John Schu hands out free books to students during Operation Literacy at Bryant Middle School in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News A governor\u2019s challenge: Start reading now<\/p>\n
Cox assured the students squeezed into the Bryant Middle School assembly hall on Friday that it\u2019s OK if they don\u2019t like reading. <\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t like reading either, but let me tell you why it\u2019s so important \u2014 reading has the ability to change everything in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The governor agreed that ignoring cellphones and video games to sit down with a book can be tough \u2014 but it\u2019s worth it. \u201cIt can actually rewire your brain in very, very positive ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
Research, he added, confirms that students who read every day will do better in school. But that\u2019s just the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cLater on, you will actually make more money in your career,\u201d Cox said. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll be happier throughout your life and you will have better and stronger families. The outcomes that are associated with people who read are incredible.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so even if you don\u2019t like reading, if you start right now \u2014 I promise it will change.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/E3L6PE4GMNCGBIRSSO7S2T664M.JPG\")
Gov. Spencer Cox speaks to students during Operation Literacy at Bryant Middle School in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News <\/p>\n
Cox then challenged every student to find a book and start reading a few minutes every day. It might be hard at first, but soon the books will start \u201cpulling you in.\u201d <\/p>\n
And it doesn\u2019t matter the book\u2019s subject, he added. \u201cJust start reading.\u201d<\/p>\n
The governor concluded his message Friday assuring the kids that good days await.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that the country\u2019s really divided right now; there\u2019s a lot of bad things that are happening out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there are so many good things that are happening, too \u2014 and I want to make sure that you\u2019re focusing on those good things. Reading can help you make those good things better \u2014 not just for you, but for your families and for our entire state and our entire country.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nation needs each person\u2019s help to make it better. \u201cAnd you can\u2019t do that if you can\u2019t read,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A bestselling author\/reader\u2019s rigorous journey<\/p>\n
An Illinois native, Schu saluted school librarians \u201cwho make hearts more capacious through story.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4PWV26BVSNBR3ELWO356DUBP64.JPG\")
Author John Schu speaks to students during Operation Literacy at Bryant Middle School in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News <\/p>\n
The author told his young audience Friday that he was going to \u201ctry really hard to be an optimist.\u201d But, he added, if he were to go back in time and speak to his 13-year-old self, he would not be conversing with an optimist. <\/p>\n
Instead, Schu said he would find a teenage boy who was hospitalized for an obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety and depression. And, he added, there was a \u201cvery loud negative voice\u201d telling him that he was worthless and miserable.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd for a long time, I listened to that really negative voice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Schu would later become an elementary school teacher and a school librarian. Now he\u2019s a bestselling author and a professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey advocating for libraries and literacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut most importantly,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019m always a reader.\u201d<\/p>\n
He credited his grandmother for making him a lifelong reader \u2014 adding that the main character in his novel-in-verse depicts him as a child.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my book \u2018Louder Than Hunger,\u2019 there\u2019s a refrain: \u2018Reading aloud is love,\u2019\u201d said Schu. \u201cAnd many of us are readers because of people reading aloud to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The author said he spent two years as a teen in a hospital. He didn\u2019t always want to get better. He fought back. He was manipulative.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I will tell you this, I am here today \u2014 and I am well today \u2014 because of good teachers. I am well today because of libraries. I am well today because of stories. And I am well today because of being a reader.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schu\u2019s love for reading and books evolved into him becoming a writer and, ultimately, crafting a fictionalized memoir reflecting his own life and challenges.<\/p>\n
He named his \u201cLouder Than Hunger\u201d protagonist \u201cJake.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYou and Jake are about to go on a harrowing journey together,\u201d he told his young audience Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the time you finish reading this book, you will be friends. Reading Jake\u2019s story will change you. You might find that you want to reveal your heart; tell someone your truth. Telling your story can save your life. It may save someone else\u2019s life too.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5FRHY2Y6EJELBMCTC5MJNVNFM4.JPG\")
Destiny Canchola, president of Latinos in Action and an eighth grader, gives Gov. Spencer Cox a package of letters from members of the Latino community during Operation Literacy at Bryant Middle School in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Utah Gov. Spencer Cox participated in a “book drop” at aSalt Lake City middle school on Friday.Literacy and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[58966,58965,128,130,129],"class_list":["post-126069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-news-division","tag-news-feed-local","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}