We will be participating in the One Book 4 Colorado program again this year.  In May, every 4 year old in Colorado is eligible for a free book given out at libraries and some clinics.  Right now, you (and your kids, too!) can vote for the book.  Go to http://www.onebook4colorado.org/vote-now/ to particiapte in the voting process.  But hurry, we only have until January 31st to vote.

A great new participatory book, Oh, No! by Candace Fleming has rhyme and repetition with a tiger and other animals.  Eric Rohmann is the illustrator and adds great expressions to the animals.  A sure-fire hit.

A brand new book to the library, Don't Squish the Sasquatch! by Kent Redeker is so much fun!  Animals are combined to make new names and there are really great illustrations (somehow I didn't picture Sasquatch in this way).  Check it out!

We have a new name for what was Main Library in Ft. Collins.  It is now the Old Town Library.  Join us this weekend at 201 Peterson for our grand re-opening.  It will be from 12:30 to 5 on Sunday, so stop in and take a look at all the new things.

The Library District and the Larimer Chapter of the Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children are starting a new book club for childcare providers and anyone else who wants to attend.  Our first date is Saturday, May 19th from 10:15-12:15 at Council Tree Library.  Please contact Vicky at vhays@poudrelibraries for more information.

Talking is one of the early literacy practices that the second edition of Every Child Ready to Read promotes.  When a baby is born, we carry on a conversation with them.  We hold them, gaze into their eyes, say something and wait for them to respond.  This give and take is almost instinctual. 

We need to talk with our kids all the time.  Describe what you are putting on them as they are getting dressed, what you are making for lunch, what happened to you when you were their age, anything at all.  As you talk with your child, they are being exposed to more vocabulary which helps them learn new words.

So, talk, talk, talk!

Sesame Street is working with Random House to launch over 20 classic Sesame Street books in digital format.  Check out the article at mbist.ro/wkkGAN.  And speaking of digital books, did you know that the library has Nook e-books for check-out?  The color Nooks are pre-loaded with books for children including Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin,  Go, Dog, Go! by P. D. Eastman and Traction Man Is Here! by Mini Grey.   We also have black and white Nooks pre-loaded with teen and adult books.  Check them out at poudrelibraries.org

Libraries have held storytimes for years and years.  Have you attended one at  our libraries?  We have storytimes for kids ages birth to two, two's and three's and four's and up.  Click on this link www.poudrelibraries.org/kids/storytime.html

and take a look at the calendar for storytimes at all 3 libraries.

My favorite (at least for now) new book is How To Teach a Slug to Read by Susan Pearson with wonderful illustrations by David Slonim.  There are some great tips on helping a child learn to read using slugs and paraphrasing some of the all-time favorite children's titles such as The Poky Little Slug and The Snail in the Hat.  I love the practical examples and simple wording. 

This is a great example of a fun book for one of the new practices for Every Child Ready to Read - Reading.  There are many, many great books to read aloud to children and this is one that parents will love too.

The second edition of Every Child Ready to Read is finally here!  Instead of talking about early literacy skills, librarians are now teaching ways that help children with early literacy.  They are: Talking, Singing, Reading, Writing and Playing.

In my next blogs, I'll give examples of each of these to help parents and caregivers with early literacy for your young children.

Questions?  Please post.

When you think of media, what comes to mind?  Print materials, radio, television, computers, handheld games and more. 

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop has released a new report entitled: Always Connected: The New Digital Media Habits of Young Children.
The full report is available for download at http://joanganzcooneycenter.org/Reports-28.html?loc=interstitialskip
 

It's a fascinating report on media use by young children and includes a chart showing kinds of media available from the 1930's to now.  They cover several studies about what kids have used and make some observations about digital media use by young children.  Check it out!

If you have found your way to this blog through our new Raising Readers page, thank you for going this far.  And I bet you have some ideas for what you would like to see on our page.  Please pass on some ideas.  If you found the blog another way, please go to

read.poudrelibraries.org/readers/

and take a look at what we have developed so far and let us know what you are looking for that you haven't found yet. 

Did you know that you can help your child in early literacy steps in just one minute?  There are lots of ways to share easy, inexpensive moments with your child.  For example, do you have lots of stuffed animals around your house?  If so, start a story using one of them, then ask your preschooler to pick another animal and continue the story.  Go back and forth with your child. Your child will learn about the parts of a story. 

Another way is to take bubble wrap, give a piece to your child and you keep a piece.   At the signal, you pop as many as you can in 10-30 seconds.  After you are done, talk about bubbles being round and that circles are in many of the letters we write: b,d,p,q, o, etc.  Whoever pops the most bubbles gets a bottle of blowing bubbles!

There are many more ideas.  As this blog continues, look for more.  And let me know about an idea you have to share.

I found a new book today called Wee Little Bunny by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by John Butler.  It is such a great story on many levels.  It tells the story of a band-new baby bunny and his adventures.  Of course, the illustrations by John Butler are clear and fun to look at.  What I really liked though, is that at the end, Mama Bunny has this little bunny tell the story of his day.  What a great way to let kids know they have a story to tell and it can be different each day.  This really helps kids understand about how stories work.  There is a beginning, a middle and an end.

Share a thought or two on your experiences with kids telling stories - whether it is a story they heard or one that happened to them that day.

Last week, the New York Times ran an article about the downturn of picture book publishing and selling in bookstores.  They say that parents of preschoolers are wanting to read older chapter books to their children as that will help them in their education. 

Picture books are essential to preschoolers.  They are written at a much older (usually about third grade) reading ability that helps children with vocabulary.  We have been teaching for several years that children need to learn appropriate skills before they learn to read.  We do not advocate for children learning to read before Kindergarten; we teach parents and children about new words, learning how stories work, learning letters and loving books. 

Let us know what you feel about the article and what you are doing to help children in early literacy.

Children’s librarians have been working very hard to get the message to parents of young children that they need to work with their child to get them ready to learn to read when they start school. For a very long time, people thought that learning for young children began when they started kindergarten. We know now that learning begins at birth and that it is important for parents to realize this. They can help by reading to their children, talking with them, and providing rich experiences for children to explore their world.
What are some things that you do to help your child get ready for school?

Reading recipes with your kids is a great way to share print awareness.  They can help you collect the ingredients and associate a word with the ingredient.  I thought it might be fun to give a great recipe that I have for fudge.  Let me know if you try it.

Triple Chocolate Fudge

3 c sugar
3/4 c butter
5 oz can (2/3 c) evaporated milk
3 T cocoa
1 c Mrs. Richardson's Hot Fudge Sauce
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c chopped nuts (optional)

Butter a 9x13 pan. In a 3 qt heavy saucepan, combine sugar, butter and
milk. Bring to a boil over medium high heat stirring constantly. Boil 5
minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and
gradually add the remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into prepared pan
and refrigerate until firm. Cut into squares.