St. Louis County Library And Urban League Will Host Love Of Reading Event

Press release from the St. Louis County Library:

February 10, 2022

St. Louis County Library and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis are launching a new partnership to support early literacy for students ages 3-5 at the Head Start in Jennings, MO. SLCL will provide a selection of new readalong books (picture books preloaded with an audio recording of the book), headphones, and activity kits to students each month to help encourage a love of reading. The program is made possible through a $30,000 grant from Citi.

The program will kick-off with a special outdoor event on Monday, February 14 at 10:30 a.m. During the event, students will receive their books and enjoy special activities including story time and giveaways. There will also be a visit from the St. Louis County Library bookmobile. The event will take place at Head Start Jennings, 8964 Jennings Station Road St. Louis, MO 63136. MEDIA ARE INVITED TO ATTEND.

"The Urban League is grateful for this opportunity to partner with the St. Louis County Library to bring this hi-tech, hi-touch literacy opportunity to our Head Start children,” said Michael P. McMillan, President and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. "We know that instilling a love of reading has a tremendous impact on lifelong learning so this initiative is very timely for our early learners.”

St. Louis County Library Director & CEO, Kristen Sorth said, “Capturing the imagination of young readers is the key to developing early literacy skills. Through the incredible world of these fun and dynamic stories, the readalong books help strengthen reading skills and build confidence. We are so grateful to Citi for making this opportunity possible and are thrilled to partner with the Urban League.”

According to the organization Zero to Three, the definition of early literacy is what children know about communication, verbal and nonverbal language, reading, and writing before they can actually read and write. The period between birth and five-years-old is the time to lay the foundation for future success in school. Readalong books help improve literacy skills by making reading fun and interactive. Kids simply press a button, listen to the story and read along. Each student will receive their own pair of headphones–allowing them to listen at their own pace.

The collection of readalong books delivered to the school will include over 35 different titles featuring diverse characters and stories such as “I Am Enough” by Grace Byers, “You Matter” by Christian Robinson, and “Mixed Me” by Taye Digs. Each title will be paired with an interactive activity that incorporates reading, play, writing and talking–strategies to build strong readers. For example, “It Came in the Mail” will include a toy mailbox and items that kids can “mail” to each other.

St. Louis County Library offers a variety of early literacy resources for families, educators and caregivers. Learn more at www.slcl.org/early-literacy.

Media inquiries should be directed to Jennifer McBride, Communications Manager at 314-994-3300 ext. 2250.

This press release was produced by the St. Louis County Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.