The Crawfordsville District Public Library is celebrating an exciting milestone in its beloved “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” program.
This week, two-year-old Bodi Porter became the 1,000th child to register for the early literacy initiative since the program began in 2013.
The program first launched over a decade ago with two-year-old Graeme Mason proudly becoming the very first child to register and complete the challenge. Since then, hundreds of local families have made reading together a treasured part of their daily routines, helping children build strong literacy skills before entering school.
“1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” encourages parents and caregivers to read aloud to their young children as often as possible, creating a lifelong love of books and learning. Families track the books they read together, and children receive encouragement and recognition along the way as they work toward the 1,000-book goal.
Karen Record, Youth Services Department Manager, reflected on the impact the program has had on the community.
“Early literacy is one of the greatest gifts we can give children,” Record said. “Seeing 1,000 young readers join this journey shows how committed our community is to helping children succeed and develop a love of books from an early age.
“This milestone represents so much more than numbers,” said Janella Nunan, Assistant Youth Services Department Manager at the library. “It represents parents reading bedtime stories, children discovering their favorite books, and families creating memories together through reading. Watching this program grow over the years has been incredibly rewarding.”
The library continues to welcome families with children from birth to age five to participate in the free program. Reading just one book a night can make a tremendous difference in a child’s language development, school readiness, and imagination.
For more information about “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten,” visit the Youth Services desk at the library.
