What the Plainville Library offers

1000 Books Before Kindergarten
Register through Beanstack to track reading your way to 1000 books. Yes, you can count the ones they want to read over and over again. For every 100 books you and your child read together your child can get a picture posted on our page. If you get to 1000, Miss Laura has a special surprise for you. 

What Parents can do

6x6: Six Skills by Six Years
​Johnson County Public Library created 6x6 to make learning about early literacy more inviting for families.

The 6 skills for literacy success are:
1. Having Fun with Books: Make reading *fun* so that your child loves reading from the start!
2. Notice Print All Around You: Learn how to handle books and notice that print is meaningful in their surroundings.
3. Talk, Talk, Talk: The more we talk with our children, the greater their vocabulary becomes! Then, when they learn to read, they’ll comprehend what they read with more ease.
4. Look for Letters Everywhere: Learn the letters of the alphabet and recognize the shapes that make up letters.
5. Take Time to Rhyme: Rhyming with children helps them to hear the smaller parts that make up words. This will help them when they need to sound out words when they’re learning to read!
6. Tell Stories About Everything: Learning that stories have a beginning, middle and end will help your child get ready to read.
Early literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they can actually read or write. Every Child Ready to Read® is a national early literacy initiative that has identified five practices parents and caregivers can use to support the six literacy skills every child needs in order to learn to read.

Early Literacy Best Practices
Incorporate these practices into your everyday routine to encourage the important early language, literacy, and social-emotional skills all children need.
  • Reading with your child is the single most important activity to help them get ready to read.
  • Talking introduces children to oral language and will help them understand what they will later read and write.
  • Singing slows down language so children can hear the smaller sounds of words and introduces words not typically used in conversation.
  • Writing represents spoken language and begins with the development of children’s fine and gross motor skills.
  • Playing helps develop oral language and valuable social-emotional skills.

Early Literacy Skills
These six skills are the foundation of a child’s early literacy learning. You can easily support these skills by using the Best Practices above!
  • Phonological Awareness is the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words.
  • Vocabulary is knowing the names of things, concepts, and feelings.
  • Print Awareness is understanding the role of print in everyday life: noticing print, knowing how to handle a book, realizing the way we follow words on a page.
  • Print Motivation is a child’s interest in and enjoyment of books. We want your child to love reading!
  • Letter Knowledge is knowing that letters are different from each other. This skill begins with shape and color recognition.
  • Narrative Skills give a child the ability to comprehend and describe their reading.

​Tips for Reading with Young Children
Above all, you want to create a positive experience when sharing books with your child. Keep these tips in mind whenever you read together.
  • Have fun! Use different voices, actions, facial expressions, songs, and props to bring the story to life.
  • Snuggle up. Hold your child closely in your lap or right next to you. Include a favorite blanket, stuffed toy, or other comfort item.
  • Talk about it. Point out things in the pictures, and ask questions about the story. Don’t be afraid to stray from the text and encourage your child to add their own ideas.
  • Remain flexible. It’s okay to skip pages, read from back to front, just look at pictures, or not finish the book.
  • Be prepared. Keep books close at hand—throughout your home, in your diaper bag, in the car—so you can take advantage of even a few minutes of book sharing time.

Website Resources

Recommended Books to Teach Early Literacy
Encouraging your child's use of the five Early Literacy practices will ensure they are ready to read when the time comes. The books listed below are recommended for each of the five practices, plus some extra titles for enhanced participation. Click the titles for more information or to place a hold.
Books that encourage...talking:
  • A Day in the Life of a Firefighter by Linda Hayward
  • Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle
  • The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
  • Bears by Dagmar Fertl
Books that encourage...singing:
  • Five Little Ducks by Ivan Bates
  • I Ain't Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont
  • If You're a Monster and You Know It by Rebecca Emberley
  • Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
Books that encourage...reading:
  • Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin
  • Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn
  • I Will Not Read This Book by Cece Meng
  • ABC T-Rex by Bernard Most
Books that encourage...writing:
  • Rocket Writes a Story by Tad Hills
  • Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
  • Do Not Open this Book by Michaela Muntean
  • Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
Books that encourage...playing:
  • From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
  • Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett
  • Fancy Nancy: Tea Parties by Jane O'Connor
  • Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Books that encourage...participation:
  • Jump, Frog, Jump by Robert Kalan
  • Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
  • Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
  • The Napping House by Audrey Wood

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