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Foundation Supports Books for Babies
Reading to children from infancy teaches them about the world around them and motivates them to learn to read on their own. Our BOOKS FOR BABIES project encourages parents to instill in their children a life-long, positive attitude toward books and create reading readiness at an early age.
Studies show that the typical middle-class child enters first grade with 1,000 to 1,700 hours of one-on-one picture book reading, whereas a child from a low-income family averages just 25 hours of that reading. Is it any wonder, then, that lower-income children fall behind early on in school?
Through our project, newborns and their mothers at Grady Hospital receive a BOOKS FOR BABIES tote bag which includes:
- A copy of Good Night Moon book
- A Books for Babies infant t-shirt
- Tips on reading to infants
- Application for a library card
- A "Commitment to read to my baby certificate"
- Information on library service
Grady First Steps volunteers visit at-risk mothers in the maternity ward with information on social services and infant development. They also present the Books for Babies packet and explain the importance of reading to babies. Nearly 3,000 mothers have been reached since the project began in 1996. BOOKS FOR BABIES was initiated by the Library System and funded primarily by the Library Foundation. The Library Foundation is raising funds in order to reach even more families with the BOOKS FOR BABIES message.
This project is a collaborative effort between Grady First Steps to Healthy Families, the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System and the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Foundation.
Help us reach more mothers! We need your donation. Make checks payable to Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Foundation-BOOKS FOR BABIES, One Margaret Mitchell Square, Atlanta, GA 30303. For more information, call 404-730-1807.
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