Reading aloud to your child is one of the best ways to develop their literacy skills. CDL is excited for this brand new program to assist parents in reading 1,000 books before kindergarten! Participants will receive rewards along the way, including free books. Start the program any time, from birth to preschool.
Reader Spotlight
Congrats to Walter, who joins his big brother in completing 1000 Books Before Kindergarten!
Step 1
Click the green button below to enter CDL’s Beanstack site. Create an account if you don’t have one already.
Step 2
Start reading to your child and log your books on Beanstack. And yes, repeat reads count!
Step 3
Watch your email for the monthly newsletter and details on how to pick up earned rewards.
Earn Rewards!
Earn 1,000 Books swag and free books at milestone badges!
- 100 Books | Tote bag and 100 books button
- 500 Books | Free book and 500 books button
- 1,000 Books | Free book, 1,000 books button, and special certificate
Monthly Newsletter
Each month, parents will receive an emailed newsletter featuring book lists, early literacy tips, and activities from the CDL youth librarians. Find it right here, too!
Paper Reading Log
Prefer paper? Print out a log (or pick up a copy from 1st Floor Information Desk in the youth area), and mark off a circle for each book read. When the page is filled, log into Beanstack, change the quantity of books to the correct number (do not add a book title), and click Log.
That’s a Lot of Books!
Reading 1,000 books sounds impossible… but it’s not! Reading just 3-4 books per day adds up, and you will hit that goal in no time. Best of all, repeat reads count! Reading aloud to your child is one of the best ways to help them develop early literacy skills and build a foundation for independent reading and writing. Plus, it’s an important bonding moment, too! Check out these resources to learn more about the research supporting reading aloud.
- “Why Read Aloud?” from readaloud.org
- “Read Early and Often” from zerotothree.org
- “Why Reading Aloud to Kids Helps Them Thrive” from pbs.org
- Full text PDF of “Becoming a Nation of Readers” landmark study from 1985 (or read summarized highlights here)
Try the Beanstack App!
For easy, right-at-hand logging, try the Beanstack app. It’s available for free for both iOS and Android. Just check your app store!
