For immediate release: January 9, 2018<\/p>\n
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Douglas County Libraries is excited to launch its 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge, a literacy initiative that encourages reading to newborns, infants and toddlers, and helps establish strong literacy skills and reading confidence from a young age.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re so excited to offer this program because it supports and extends the library\u2019s early literacy efforts beyond Storytime and the library walls,\u201d says Douglas County Libraries Youth Literacy Specialist Laura Olson. \u201cWe also hope that the program instills a lifelong love of reading in young children,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
Research shows that the more books children hear before kindergarten, the more prepared they will be to learn how to read. \u201cThis is a fun, self-paced way to encourage families to read aloud at home, and it reinforces to parents that they are their kids\u2019 first and best teachers,\u201d Olson says.<\/p>\n
Douglas County Libraries makes it easy to start the 1000 Books journey and to track each book read along the way. Every book counts toward the reading goal, including books that are read multiple times (each reading counts) and books read out loud at Douglas County Libraries Storytimes<\/a>. Reading just one book at bedtime every night for three years is 1,095 books, so it really is possible to read 1,000 books before kindergarten!<\/p>\n