A Special Milestone 

We're celebrating a very special milestone in 2014; handing out our two millionth book! The Libra Foundation's financial commitment, combined with the dedication of healthcare providers across the state to distribute the books, has enabled the program to provide a library of 12 books to more than 212,000 individual children over the last 14 years. Parents and caregivers like you have read those books to children, giving them a head start on learning to read and building the nurturing relationships that help them learn. Thank you! 

Books Can Help with New Experiences

Have a child headed off to pre-K, childcare or Kindergarten? Books can help a child prepare for these or other new experiences as they see and hear about a character's experiences with these similar situations.   

Check out our doctor reviewed and recommended lists of books on special topics. Or, try our Books about School: Pre-K and K board on Pinterest for lists of books about going to school.

There are lists of books on nearly 200 other themes on our Books by Themes Pinterest board.

Rx to Read: From the Very Beginning

 

At Raising Readers we've been promoting a love of books and reading for over a decade, encouraging parents to read aloud with their young children daily. In fact, we're proud to say that Maine parents report reading to their young children daily more than any other state except Vermont.*

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently announced a new policy recommending parents read to children starting in infacny. Sound familiar? That's what we've been doing here in Maine for the last 14 years, in addition to giving children books of their very own.

  

Children who are read to from birth are more interested in reading and have better language skills according to the AAP Policy statement. Equally important, the time spent together while reading builds nurturing relationships that support a child's healthy development!

  

You can learn more about the impact of reading with your children right from the start by visiting our website or the AAP's Section on Early Literacy at www.healthychildren.org.

*2011 National Study of Children's Health