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Reading Readiness for Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers
 What is early literacy?
Early literacy is everything children know about reading and writing
before they can actually read and write.
Why is early literacy important?
Research shows that children get ready to read years before they start school,
even from birth. The development of early literacy skills through early experiences
with books and stories is critically linked to a child’s success in learning to read.
What can parents and caregivers do?
Parents are important in helping their children get ready to read because:
- You know your children best.
- Children learn best when they are in a good mood, and you know their moods best.
- You can help your children learn reading skills in ways that are easiest for them.
- Children learn best by doing things—and they love doing things with you.
Take every chance you have to read with your children, tell and talk about stories, say nursery rhymes and sing songs. Early literacy is not the teaching of reading. Your child will learn how to read in school. The most important thing you can do to foster early literacy is to provide an atmosphere that’s fun, verbal and stimulating. When you read, talk and play with your child, you’re stimulating the growth of your child’s brain and building the connections that will become the building blocks for reading.
What are the pre-reading skills your child can start learning from birth?
According to research, there are six pre-reading skills that children must have in order to learn to read:
• Print Motivation: Being interested in and enjoying books.
• Vocabulary: Knowing the names of things.
• Print Awareness: Noticing print, knowing how to handle a book, and knowing how to follow the words on a page.
• Narrative Skills: Being able to describe things and events and to tell stories.
• Letter Knowledge: Knowing letters are different from each other, knowing their names and sounds, and
recognizing letters everywhere.
• Phonological Awareness: Being able to hear and play with the smaller
sounds in words.
New at your library! Early Literacy Kits
To assist parents and caregivers in helping their children develop
pre-reading skills, the Kids’ Library now has Literacy Kits available
for checkout. These kits contain books, puzzles, games and/or
a puppet to help reinforce the above skills and basic concepts
such as the alphabet, opposites, matching, etc. These kits come in a black
mesh backpack ready for checkout.
Early Literacy Workshops
The Elmhurst Public Library wants to partner with parents and caregivers in raising children who will enter school ready to learn to read. At various times throughout the year, the staff of the Kids’ Library offers Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library workshops for parents, caregivers, and teachers. These workshops detail the importance of early literacy and how to encourage the development of the basic pre-reading skills. Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library is sponsored by the American Library Association, the Public Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children.
To learn more about what you can do as a parent or caregiver, click on the titles below:
Check out our recommended books for babies, toddlers and preschoolers:
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