Would you read this for a poll? Would you read it as you scroll?
Welcome to YouGov's weekly newsletter The Surveyor, with new polling data, insights, and charts on politics, life, and other topical issues — from our U.S. News team.
This week, we're spotlighting surveys about reading to children, the U.S. attack on Iran, how Americans compare the U.S. to the rest of the world, Americans' favorite state, Jeffrey Epstein, evacuation orders, beaches, and fireworks.
Would you read this with a voice? Would some art make you rejoice?
With a five-month-old baby at home, I've been spending much of my time this summer exploring the varied world of children's literature. And it's taken me very little time to develop extremely strong opinions about the literary world of cats with headgear, determined locomotives, and bears of limited cerebral capacity.
It turns out lots of Americans have strong — and largely positive — feelings about reading to children, too. A new YouGov poll finds 53% say they love reading books to children, and another 25% like it. 14% are neutral about reading to children and only 3% say they dislike or hate it.
Americans who have or have had children, Americans who are more active readers themselves, and Americans who say that when they were children they were read to frequently are all more likely to say they love reading to kids than those who are not in those groups.
Americans with more education are more likely than those with less education to say they were read to often as children — and to enjoy reading to children. Younger Americans are more likely than older Americans to say they were frequently read to — but not more likely to enjoy reading to children.
Among the 81% of Americans who say they've ever read to children, 50% say they love reading picture books. 37% love reading rhyming books, and 27% love reading chapter books. Also among this group, 64% say it's very important that children's books are enjoyable to read out loud, 57% say it's very important that they have interesting pictures, and 51% say it's very important that they have an educational message. 24% say it's very important that they know the book from their childhood, and only 11% say it's very important that parts of the book are aimed at adults.
YouGov asked Americans about their favorite children's books, letting respondents reply in their own words. Dr. Seuss and Seuss books such as "The Cat in the Hat" were the most frequently mentioned, along with Margaret Wise Brown's "Goodnight Moon," Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are," and E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web." Al Perkins' criminally underrated "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" was shockingly not mentioned by any respondents.
Finally, as someone who's been honing his Eeyore interpretation into a dreary, resigned sigh, I am saddened to report that less than half of Americans who have ever read books to children say they always (18%) or usually (27%) perform character voices. 36% say they do voices sometimes, and 16% say they do them rarely (8%) or never (8%).
Charting opinions
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say U.S. foreign military interventions more often worsen situations (47% vs. 21%). In November 2023, when Democrat Joe Biden was in the White House, a much smaller share of Democrats (25%) and a slightly larger share of Republicans (28%) said this. (Jamie Ballard)
How Americans think the U.S. compares to the rest of the world
One-third or more say the U.S. is the worst or worse than most countries in terms of government accountability (39%), health care (36%), cost of living (35%), national unity (34%), and its education system (34%). For all of those, more say the U.S. is worse than most or all than say it is better than most or all — a dubious distinction that also applies to government efficiency (31% say it is worse than all or most other countries), retirement security (29%), and moral values (29%). (Taylor Orth)
Hawaii is Americans' favorite state
Hawaii leads the 50 states in the share of Americans who view it very or somewhat favorably (68%) and in the percentage who view it very favorably (36%). Following Hawaii in the share of Americans with a favorable opinion are North Carolina (62%), Alaska (61%), Tennessee (60%), and Colorado (59%). Hawaii also leads every other state in net favorability — the share of Americans who view it favorably minus the share who view it unfavorably. Hawaii's +53 leads Alaska (+47), Montana (+45), and North Carolina (+45). (Jamie Ballard)
Quick takes
Cities: 34% of Americans say New York is a better city than Los Angeles, and 20% say Los Angeles is better than New York
Beach: 39% of Americans love going to the beach, 40% like it, 10% dislike it, and 4% feel that sand is coarse, irritating, and gets everywhere.
Epstein: 20% of Americans think Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide, while 39% think he was murdered and 1% think he died accidentally
Evacuation: Most Americans say they would definitely (40%) or probably (37%) evacuate their home if ordered to do so because of severe weather
Fireworks: 47% of Americans watched fireworks on the Fourth of July
Elsewhere
Polling partnerships
CBS + YouGov on the American flag
The Economist + YouGov on Donald Trump's budget, "Medicare for all," Trump's tariffs, and abortion
Polling abroad
How do Britons think you should name a baby? (YouGov UK)
Polling in the press
What Americans think of tariffs (Economist)
Poll: Zohran Mamdani's policies are popular with Americans outside New York — even if Mamdani is not (Yahoo News)
Is Trump Actually Making the U.S. Economy More Competitive? (New York Times)
Will a food dye ban make your favorite treats taste different? We put Froot Loops to the test. (Yahoo Life)
Spiritualism, A.I. Griefbots and Why We Still Need to Talk to the Dead (New York Times)
Learn more and get in touch
Sign up to participate in our polls and share your opinions on the people, companies, and issues that shape your life and the world
For more polling data and insights, visit our website or follow us on X, Threads, and Bluesky.
Have questions or feedback?
If you have a press or media inquiry, email uspress@yougov.com
If you have an idea for a future survey, share it here
If you are a panelist and have questions, contact support here
For information on privacy, please read our privacy notice
Carl Bialik contributed to this newsletter.