Kansas Reads to Preschoolers, a project of the Kansas State Library, was created to highlight the importance of reading to children as well as to promote the library as a renewable resource of reading material. The goal is that every Kansas child between the ages of 0 – 5 years [all 226,453 of them!] will be read to during National Children’s Book Week, November 13-20, 2006.
Governor Kathleen Sebelius is Honorary Chair for the local event.
During the project in 2005, over 20,000 children were read to by parents, grandparents, children’s librarians, Mayors, elected State Representatives, middle and high school students, Friends of Libraries and library trustees, as well as early childhood leaders and workers and many, many others!
A child develops language skills long before being able to speak and develops literacy skills long before being able to read. Early Childhood experts tell us that children develop much of their capacity to learn in their first 3 years. Reading to babies, toddlers and preschoolers can have an incredible impact on their short and long-term reading capacity. It is no exaggeration to say that how well children learn to read affects directly not only how successful they are in school, but how well they do throughout their lives.
The book chosen for 2006 is Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells. November 13-20, 2006 is the week selected where libraries, Early Childhood centers, and others plan special programming using the One Book chosen. That week coincides with Children’s Book Week. Local libraries and others partner with service organizations and others to purchase books and advertising as well as plan occasions for local celebrities and others to read to preschoolers. In some libraries, children are reading to senior citizens!
The book for the project is carefully chosen by the following children’s librarians from across the state: Holly Mathes, Selection Committee Chair, Grant County Public Library, Ulysses; Tabitha Hogan, Winfield Public Library; Amy Bayes, Newton Public Library; Madella Williams and Judy Cole, Finney County Library, Garden City; Betty Jean Neal, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library; and Christine Haines, Johnson County Library. Hundreds of books are read and vetted to ensure that the chosen book meets the criteria for the Kansas Reads to Preschoolers project.