March 28, 2024

Peter wants youngsters to read ‘1,000 books’ by kindergarten

Youth services librarian says research shows pre-literate children still benefit

There’s much more to learning to read besides making dinosaur “chomp” noises, but that certainly seems to be a fringe benefit of a new Newton Public Library program.

“A Thousand Books by Kindergarten” is the name youth services librarian Phyllis Peter has assigned to a new NPL program that encourages parents to read to toddlers and infants. Incorporated into her Tuesday morning “Toddler & Twos Storytime,” aimed at children ages 18 to 36 months, the program has log sheets that help toddlers know when they’ve had increments of 100 books read to them.

“It’s not competitive,” Peter said. “But the kids sure love getting a new sticker for every 100 books.”

Peter said studies show toddlers, and even infants, benefit from having books read to them, even if they’re not at the stage where they are producing there only fully-formed spoken and written words.

Other literature associated with the program presents other important benefits of early reading, such as how much vocabulary can be built up before starting school. One thousand books can be reached in less than three years if a toddler reads one book per day with a parent.

Peter incorporates songs and accompanying hand signs into Tuesday’s reading time, as singing is an important component of developing both speech and reading skills.

There were about 15 toddlers at Tuesday’s session, along with parents and other family members. Des Moines resident Kathleen Sandoval’s daughter attends DMACC-Newton classes, so Kathleen brings her granddaughter, Esmerelda, to the Newton library for Toddlers & Twos.

“This is a wonderful program,” Kathleen Sandoval said. “It’s better than any library we’ve found anywhere else around here.”

Peter said the Friends of the Library present a gift bag to mothers who are discharging from Skiff Medical Center with newborn baby. She hopes to add a “Thousand Books” flier and log sheet to the bag.

“This will help build on what FOL is doing,” Peter said, smiling.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com