John Hutton, M.D.

Dr. John S. Hutton, MD MS FAAP, is an Associate Professor in the Division of General and Community Pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center and an attending physician at Children's Medical Center, Dallas. He is also an adjunct Associate Professor of General and Community Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Originally from Kentucky, Dr. Hutton spent formative years in San Antonio before his family moved to the Midwest, and is thrilled to be back in Texas. He is a primary care pediatrician.

In addition to over 50 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, Dr. Hutton has published over 40 children’s books, many with health-promoting themes, including safe sleep, infant calming, breastfeeding, dialogic reading and limiting digital media use (screen time), several of these found effective in clinical trials. He is also collaborating in a series of picture books introducing organ systems beginning with the heart and brain, including related pediatric conditions and how children can stay healthy. Inspiring and informing this work is his experience owning and operating an award-winning, independent children's bookstore (Blue Manatee) for almost 20 years.

Dr. Hutton is “spokes-doctor” for the Read Aloud 15 MINUTES national campaign, on the national Medical Advisory Board and Research Steering Committee of Reach Out and Read, works closely with the Children and Screens Institute of Digital Media, and a co-author (neuroscience lead) of forthcoming American Academy of Pediatrics Literacy Promotion Guidelines. His work has been funded by philanthropy, foundations and the National Institutes of Health. 

With his team, Dr. Hutton has published the first studies in the world using MRI to quantify relationships between home reading and digital media environments on brain structure and function in preschool-age children. He has also developed and validated measures of emergent literacy (The Reading House) and numeracy (The Number Farm) skills, shared reading quality (DialogPR, SharePR) and digital media use (ScreenQ). He is testing innovative approaches to empowering reading and screen-related guidance for families, including the SHARE/STEP approach to reading with infants, community-based training, specially designed children’s books, animated videos and free mobile app. 

His scientific publications can be accessed via PubMed.gov

Medical School

(1998), Medicine

• Digital media use during early childhood
• Emergent literacy development
• Emergent numeracy development
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging and early brain development
• Pediatric health literacy promotion
• Promoting interactive reading beginning in infancy
• Reading and literacy promotion during pediatric primary care

Maternal education as an environmental factor related to reading in children with reading difficulties: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Greenwood P, Hutton J, Dudley J, DiFrancesco M, Farah R, Altaye M, Horowitz-Kraus T Dyslexia 2023 Aug 29 217-234

Shared reading with infants: SharePR a novel measure of shared reading quality

Hutton JS, Huang G, Crosh C, DeWitt T, Ittenbach RF Pediatric Research 2023 Mar 93 976-984

Higher access to screens is related to decreased functional connectivity between neural networks associated with basic attention skills and cognitive control in children

Meri R, Hutton J, Farah R, DiFrancesco M, Gozman L, Horowitz-Kraus T Child Neuropsychology 2023 29 666-685

Executive functions abilities in preschool-age children are negatively related to parental EF, screen-time and positively related to home literacy environment: an EEG study

Horowitz-Kraus T, Fotang J, Niv L, Apter A, Hutton J, Farah R Child Neuropsychology 2023

Neuroimaging of brain connectivity related to reading outcomes in children born preterm: A critical narrative review

Kelly KJ, Hutton JS, Parikh NA, Barnes-Davis ME Frontiers in Pediatrics 2023 11

Associations between digital media use and brain surface structural measures in preschool-aged children

Hutton JS, Dudley J, DeWitt T, Horowitz-Kraus T Scientific reports 2022 Dec 12

Chronic pediatric diseases and risk for reading difficulties: a narrative review with recommendations

Perazzo D, Moore R, Kasparian NA, Rodts M, Horowitz-Kraus T, Crosby L, Turpin B, Beck AF, Hutton J Pediatric Research 2022 Oct 92 966-978

Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study of a Primary Care–Based Intervention Promoting Shared Reading During Infancy

Crosh CC, Barsella A, Van Slambrouck L, Notario PM, Li Y, Parsons AA, Hutton JS Clinical Pediatrics 2022 Jul 61 475-484

Safe sleep and reading guidance during prenatal care? findings from a pilot trial using specially designed children’s books

Hutton JS, Perazzo D, Boldt M, Leonard AC, Kelly E Journal of Perinatology 2022 Apr 42 510-512

Shared Reading and Risk of Social-Emotional Problems

Martin KJ, Beck AF, Xu Y, Szumlas GA, Hutton JS, Crosh CC, Copeland KA Pediatrics 2022 Jan 149

 Featured Books

Sleep Baby Safe and Snug

(2013). blue manatee press

Calm Baby Gently

(2014). blue manatee press

Eat Baby Healthy

(2014). blue manatee press

Read Baby, Every Day

(2015). blue manatee press

Your Baby Always

(2015). blue manatee press

Baby Unplugged: Play

(2014). blue manatee press

ADH-Me!

(2016). blue manatee press

DR Books Series (Dogs! Cats! Cows! Bugs!)

(2017). blue manatee press

The Reading House

(2017). blue manatee press

SHARE This Book

(2018). blue manatee press

Hank the Heart

(2020). blue manatee press

Billie the Brain

(2023). blue manatee press

You CAN Read to Me!

(Ed.) (2024). blue manatee press

Baby Bookworm

(2020). blue manatee press

COMPARTIR Este Libro

(2023). blue manatee press

La Casa de la Lectura (Reading House)

(2021). blue manatee press

Billie the Brain

John Hutton (2023). blue manatee press

Bedtime Baby, Safe and Sound

John Hutton (2024). blue manatee press

Bookworm Buddies A to Z

John Hutton, Amy McGrory (2024). blue manatee press

Baby Unplugged: Ball

(2016).

Gritty Kitty

(2019). blue manatee press

Baby Unplugged: Make

(2021). blue manatee press

The Number Farm

(2024). blue manatee press

Bookworm Buddies A-Z

(2024). blue manatee press

Léeme te Escucho (Baby Bookworm)

(2022). blue manatee press

Duerme Bebe' Comodo y Seguro

(2013). blue manatee press

• Independent Press Award
  "Billie the Brain," children's picture book, non-fiction category. (2024)
• Mission Innovation Award
  "Hank the Heart," a character-based approach to health literacy for children with congenital heart differences. Cincinnati Childrens Innovation Ventures and Cincinnati Childrens Research Foundation. (2024)
• Featured Research: Annual Report
  Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (MRI and screen time). (2022)
• Early Career Investigator (ECI) Award
  Pediatric Research (journal) (2020)
• Featured Research: Annual Report
  Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (MRI and screen time) (2020)
• Most Talked About Articles of 2020
  JAMA Pediatrics (journal; MRI and screen time) (2020)
• The Most Popular Stories of 2020
  The American Academy of Pediatrics Daily Briefing (MRI and reading) (2020)
• Top Downloaded Paper 2018-2019
  Journal: Acta Paediatrica. MRI and reading. (2020)
• Ohioana Cooper Award
  Honoring outstanding contribution to books and reading. The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County. (2018)
• Benjamin Franklin Award Gold Medal
  Independent Book Publishers Association (2017)
• Finalist, Women's National Book Association Pannell Award
  Best children's specialty bookstore in the US: Blue Manatee Children's Bookstore (owner). (2017)
• Overall Winner, Region V Abstract Competition
  Academic Pediatric Association (2016)
• Procter Scholar Award
  Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation (2016)
• Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Award
  MRI and reading (2016)
• APA Research Award: Best Abstract by a Fellow
  Academic Pediatric Association (2015)
• Arnold W. Strauss Fellow Award
  Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation (2015)
• Featured Research: Annual Report
  Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (MRI and reading) (2015)
• Healthcare Heroes Award: Innovator
  Children's book for safe sleep promotion. Cincinnati Business Courier (2015)
• Overall Winner, Region V Abstract Competition
  Academic Pediatric Association (2015)
• Academic Pediatric Association Young Investigator Award
  Primary Care Strategies for the Promotion of Early Literacy and School Readiness (2013)
• Safe Sleep Ambassador
  Charlie's Kids Foundation (2013)
• Best Bookstore
  Blue Manatee Children's Bookstore (owner). Cincinnati City Beat Magazine. (2005-2017)
• Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society
  

• Academic Pediatric Association
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American Board of Pediatrics
• Texas Pediatric Society