Did you know that sharing just one book a night gives your child the building blocks for lifelong success? 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is a program that supports early emergent literacy skills in young children. The best way to build your child’s early emergent literacy skills is by reading to them each day! Early emergent literacy skills include oral language, reading and book knowledge, and writing skills. Stop in at the library today to pick up your child’s first reading log to start the journey to 1,000 books!
- The ability to learn language skills is greatest prior to the age of six.
- Children who are read to have bigger vocabularies when they enter school.
- Sharing books and stories supports your child’s brain development.
- Reading books about counting and shapes will help your child development early math skills.
At the library turn in your child’s reading logs for every 200 books read, and they will receive a treat. At 500 books your child may have their photo taken and displayed on the photo wall inside the library. Upon completion of 1,000 books read your child will receive a special gift and certificate.
For more information regarding the program’s guidelines, please click here.
Click here for a list of 1,000 books your child should hear before kindergarten [provided by 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten]; if there are books on this list that you want to read to your child, we can help you locate them either in our library or upon request from another library.
Click here for even more reading lists, for adults and children, including links to Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winners, Caldecott Medal and Honor winners, and Newberry Medal and Honor winners.
Click here for a list of 50 books your child should hear before kindergarten; if the list of 1,000 books sounds intimidating, start with a smaller list.
Note that there may be some overlap of titles between lists!
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten [non-profit website]
Information on Early Emergent Literacy and Emergent Literacy and related benchmarks [courtesy of Cengage]
Reading Rockets [This is a national multimedia literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.]
Suggestions for Promoting Literacy Development in Infancy [courtesy of Reading Rockets]
Promoting Development Through Emergent Literacy, this article offers information for teachers and parents [courtesy of Early Childhood News]
Building A Base For Strong Language and Emergent Literacy Development, this article offers information and suggested activities by age level from 1 year old to 4 years old [courtesy of Pennsylvania State University Extension]
