At a recent regional early literacy workshop, a few of us we’re tossing around the idea of starting a “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” program at our individual libraries. There so many librarians out there who have successfully adopted the idea that it seemed like a no-brainer. More reading = higher literacy rates.

As we talked though, I decided not to do the program. We couldn’t get away from the idea that numbers can be intimidating, especially for families that aren’t regular storytime attendees or adults that are not confident readers themselves. We were also a bit intimidated by the numbers. By that I mean we were worried about committing to more record keeping since many of us work in libraries with few staff. We agreed that we ultimately wanted the focus to be on the story experience not the number of stories. So I came up with this as an alternative that works for our library.

This is the first in a series of posters called “10 Ways to Explore a Book” that will feature Alaskan children’s books and ten ways families can extend their experience with a story at home, while they read it or afterwards. It’s loosely based on the ECRR2 Practices: Talk, Sing, Read, Write and Play. (Photo used with permission of the creators.)

Have any thoughts about the design? Let me know!

Blueberry Shoe by Ann Dixon and Evon Zerbetz (Alaska Northwest Books, 1999)