Traveling Children's Library

In the 2007-2008 school year, the Traveling Children’s Library (TCL) visited almost 1400 preschool children each month, bringing books and storytime programs into their classrooms. As the TCL program focuses on reaching low income, at-risk children, many of the children in these classrooms have few, if any, books of their own at home. This year, in celebration of the end of the school year, with the generous financial support of the Jefferson County Library Foundation, the TCL was able to give each child their very own brand-new paperback book. In addition, each child was given an added incentive to continue reading books over the summer - a monkey reading buddy. Several of the preschools visited by the TCL use a “buddy reading” session to encourage children to practice their early-literacy skills. During the lesson, one child acts as the “ears,” while the other is the “mouth” (aka reader). The reader then “reads” a book to the listening child, and then the roles are reversed. With the gift of a reading buddy, the children were encouraged to continue this practice over the summer. As an added reminder, each monkey came with a t-shirt emblazoned with "READ to me."

A Head Start family support worker reported that she overheard one child, leaving for the day with his parent, proudly show off his monkey and explain that he was going to "read to it every day!" In another classroom, right after receiving their books and monkeys, the children were offered the choice of choosing a play center or sitting down in the room’s literacy area and reading to their monkeys. Every child chose to read.

This is the second year the TCL has been able to provide these children with a book of their own, and we hope that, with the continued generosity of the Foundation, we will be able to continue this practice.

Mary Kuehner, Traveling Children’s Library
mkuehner@jefferson.lib.co.us