Dr. John Hutton
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Dr. John S. Hutton is a pediatrician and Director of the Reading and Literacy Discovery Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. He owned blue manatee children’s bookstore for almost 20 years, then donated via a “Golden Ticket” in 2019 to create the non-profit Blue Manatee Literacy Project. He is also the founder of blue manatee press. His research involves exploring the effect of the home reading environment and screen-based media on early brain development using MRI, and is the first to document relationships with brain structure and function prior to kindergarten. "Dr. John" is also a pioneer in developing children's books for pediatric health literacy promotion and early literacy screening, several distributed via statewide infant health campaigns, benefiting non-profit groups, and found superior to standard guidance in clinical trials. His goal is to improve the general and health literacy of families from all backgrounds, not just because it’s lovely and wonderful, but because it builds brains.
Dr. John is passionate about better understanding the rising influence of electronic media on young children, and the importance of a solid foundation in language, human connection and creative play. His health-themed series Baby Unplugged and Love Baby Healthy have been distributed to over two million families, to date. He has won awards for his research and writing, lectures widely, and attended writing workshops in Iowa City and Squaw Valley, CA.
He lives with his family, dogs, cat, rabbit, fish, and a whole bunch of bees, in Cincinnati, OH.
