About | Getting Started | FAQs
The concept is simple, the rewards are priceless. Read a book (any book) to your newborn, infant, and/or toddler. The goal is to have read 1,000 books (yes you can repeat books) before your precious one starts kindergarten. Does it sound hard? Not really if you think about it. If you read just 1 book a night, you will have read about 365 books in a year. That is 730 books in two years and 1,095 books in three years. If you consider that most children start kindergarten at around 5 years of age, you have more time than you think (so get started).
Visit the Children's Room desk to register your child and receive a copy of My First Reading Log (or you may downlod the PDF and print) in which you will be able to keep track of your progress and the titles of books that you and your child read together.
As you and your child reach reading benchmarks, visit the Library to receive fun reading incentives.
Do you need reading suggestions? Ask one of our Youth Services Librarians.
eBooks count too! Try Tumblebooks and Hoopla for terrific children's content.
Who can participate in this program? Any child from birth until he or she enters kindergarten can participate in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program.
Which books count? Books that you, a preschool teacher, a caregiver, and/or family member read to your child count towards your goal. Books read during Storytime at the library also count toward your reading goal. You may count audiobooks, ebooks and/or apps that read or tell a story.
What if my child wants to read the same book over and over again? Repetition is one of the keys to learning to read, so each repetition counts toward your goal. If you read the same book three times, that counts as three books toward your goal.
How long will the program take? The program will take anywhere from a few months to a few years. The program is self‐paced and will depend on how often you read together. If you read 3 books a day with your child, you'll hit 1,095 books in just one year!
How many of my children can participate? All of them (provided they have not yet started kindergarten). Make it even more fun and read as a family!
