Literature has a humanizing potential, capable of enabling the reader to acquire knowledge both about him/herself and the world. For this reason, it has special relevance to the young reader, who is in the process of forming his/her subjectivity. Nevertheless, the research Retratos da Leitura no Brasil (Portray of Reading in Brazil) shows a distancing movement of the young reader and literary reading. Identifying Design as a mediator for reading and a possible ally in the approximation process between the juvenile audience and literature books, this dissertation aims at understanding the role of Design in the contemporary publishing market and in public policies aimed at promoting reading. Thus, it presents both a quantitative and qualitative analyses of the collection of books at the Programa Nacional Biblioteca da Escola (PNBE – School Library National Program). The categories, organized according to the concepts proposed by Linden, Haslam and Lupton e Phillips, comprise an overview of the relations between textual and pictorial content in the books for young people and relates the presence of Design elements to the valorization of reader fruition and dialog among the several languages of the book. Research findings indicate that most books do not consider the social role of the young reader and do not explore the possibilities offered by Design. Thus, this research proposes the development of a policy of Design in Reading as a project-oriented activity of interdisciplinary feature, which perceives the reader as both a cultural and social instance and aims not only at contributing to the consolidation of Design as an interdisciplinary field in public policies to promote reading, but also as a project of continuing education in teaching.