Surrounded by the wonderful Family Reading Staff. Brigid, second from right
In front of the Jim Trelease quote which encapsulates the reason to read to babies.
One of the Family Reading banners you see all around town
I finally got to visit Family Reading Partnership, the best community read-aloud support program in the nation. It’s in Ithaca, New York, and I had the privilege of giving a talk to most of the participating agency heads, who support the partnership, at the Tompkins County Public Library on the morning of June 13.
The brilliant Director and creator of the program is Brigid Hubberman, and she and her busy staff are located in a vacated public school where they have huge spaces filled with what looked like thousands of books and other materials that eventually get to families who need them.
They have grown into an impressive organization in only fifteen years because of the passionate dedication of many volunteers. They produce a newsletter, a yearly calendar illustrated by well-known book illustrators, and one of my favorite ideas — giant banners that hang on buildings all over Ithaca and outlying areas. For a complete discussion on the extent of their programs go to http://www.familyreading.org.
When we wrote Baby Read-Aloud Basics, this is the kind of program we were hoping the book would inspire or could use. Brigid is now looking for a benefactor to provide our book to the parents of each new baby born in Ithaca and the surrounding areas.
Family Reading Partnership gave each participant one of our books
If most communities in the US could adopt such a program, our literacy rate would no longer be a problem. Children need to hear language from birth if not before (as Brigid’s group is now emphasizing). We’re gathering more and more stories of the effects on babies of having heard books read to them before birth! Of course, we now know the urgency with which we need to get all parents reading to their babies from birth for language and literacy development and to insure academic success and a full, happy life. This is what Family Reading Partnership is all about.
Let’s celebrate them by not only donating to their non-profit, but by encouraging development of similar programs in your community. We all benefit from a literate, educated world. Oh, and I didn’t mention the most important side effect of reading to your baby — LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. To read to your baby is to love and bond with your child! It’s true: All you need is love, and everything good, such as self esteem, will follow.
