This book is an essential guide for those many individuals who serve as children’s first teachers and who understand, as we do, that interactive book reading is an important context for helping children learn and develop.

Ready for Kindergarten is a home visitation program provided by Columbus Metropolitan Library families with young children in low-income households to assist them in preparing their children for kindergarten.

SPARK was a family-focused kindergarten-readiness program that worked collaboratively with families, schools, and the community. Each month, children received a new book, a lesson activity, and educational supplies. Children also participated in home- or group-based learning opportunities—all with the goal of increasing the child’s success in school and life.

Funded by the Kellogg Foundation, The SOLYLUNA Book Reading Club promotes families’ access to books for young children in an area of high illiteracy in Mexico. Workshops and materials are currently being developed and shared across Mayan villages in Yucatan State in a collaboration between the Crane Center and Solyluna School in Merida, Mexico.