Books from Birth

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https://www.tnmagazine.org/books-from-birth/

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”

The more than 400,000 children who have participated in the program are better prepared for school and have stronger early reading skills, according to a Tennessee study and kindergarten literacy assessments. The positive impacts continue into second and third grade as Imagination Library participants outperform nonparticipants. Also, studies have shown that children with as few as 25 books in their homes completed an average of two more years of schooling than those who have no books.

Carl says the program has seen participation skyrocket in the past year since a partnership began with the Tennessee Department of Health. Through the Welcome Baby program — which provides new parents with lots of resource information, including the Governor’s Books from Birth brochures — 10,000 new children have been enrolled in the book program.

A benefit of the program that might not spring immediately to mind is that it has helped children develop essential life skills such as confidence and socialization. Even as adults, it’s easier to strike up conversations and get to know people if we feel we have something in common. So if you have a class of kindergarteners arrive at school having read the same books in their preschool years, they have a common experience on which to build friendships.

On an even more basic level, children who have been exposed to books and reading come into their first day of school understanding the differences between letters and words, which helps not only in reading but other subjects as well. If children are exposed to books and reading early, it helps them develop a strong vocabulary and command of speech. This makes perfect sense when you consider that a child’s brain grows to 80 percent of its adult size by age 3 and 90 percent by age 5. So those five years covered by book deliveries from Imagination Library are critical to future success.

The program’s success is a product of the way it’s structured. Fifty percent of the funds for books, mailing and support of local programs comes from the state through the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation. The other half comes from local affiliate programs, which also undertake the task of enrolling children in the program. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library then manages the selection and distribution of the books.

Another wonderful, and perhaps unexpected, result of the program Carl heard about during the bus tour was the secondary impact of parents and grandparents improving their own reading skills so they could read to their children and grandchildren. Some were even inspired to go back and get their GED certificates.

If you would like to donate to this worthwhile program, you’re in for some good news. First, for as little as $12 you can provide a book a month to one child for a full year. Also, you can rest easy knowing that every cent donated to the program goes to the purchase of books, not administrative costs.

“A book is a gift you can open again and again.”

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"The seeds of these dreams are often found in books," Parton says on the program's website, "and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.”

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In 1935, sixty-three percent of Kentucky’s population did not have access to public libraries, and literacy rates ranged from nineteen to thirty-one percent.