The Children's staff of the Hennepin County Library in Minnesota have created an amazing resource that librarians, teachers and parents alike can use to find great books that reinforce early literacy skills learning. It's called ELSIE: the Early Literacy Storytime Ideas Exchange. Enter a search term into the box or choose a skill to highlight (or both) and the database comes up with titles for you to peruse.

Many parents know that reading to their babies is important, but they don't know WHY. After all, babies don't understand the words we're reading, so what are they getting out of it? According to Ginny Kochis, "reading aloud to infants...is not a fruitless or passive endeavor.

While librarians know how to read a story aloud so that kids will enjoy it and have fun, it's not second nature for parents. Therefore, the Literacy Alliance of Fort Wayne, Indiana has created a cool handout that helps parents learn how to read a story to a child so that it will be a fun experience for everyone! This two-page handout also shares a wealth of information about why reading aloud to children is important and the early literacy skills a child can develop.

Reading Rockets' Ed Extra (free monthly article in English and Spanish suitable for use in school or library newsletters) this month talks about ways to turn a trip to the grocery store into an early literacy learning experience. Games reinforcing print awareness, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and vocabulary are described. This is a great article to share with families! Download it here.

Denver Public Library's "Literacy at the Library" is a monthly e-newsletter that shares early literacy information in a fun, easy-to-read format. The May/June 2009 issue explains print motivation and offers tips, arranged by child's age, for developing this skill. Sign up to have the newsletter e-mailed to your inbox, or read it (and past issues) online.

That perennial classic children's picture book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, celebrates the 40th anniversary of it's publication this year.  Still a huge hit when read aloud to young children, the book is a great tool to use in reinforcing early literacy skills, especially narrative skills and print motivation.  Read more about Eric Carle and the origins of this wonderful book in the LA Times

Here's a great article from a mom about how her two children are learning to read: differently.  She emphasizes how important reading aloud is, but also how important it is to support a child's interests and make reading FUN!  Here's an amazing fact from the article you can share with new parents:  "Experts tell us that by the time children enter kindergarten, they will need to have 1,000 hours of literacy learning experience behind them if they are to read on

Literacy is Priceless is a blog created by Anna Batchelder, an education consultant, and contains lots of helpful information and resources for people working to help children in grades PreK - 6 learn to read.  Check it out!

ALTAFF, the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends, and Foundations is offering 20 matching grants of $500 each to be used for purchasing Books for Babies Kits from ALTAFF.  Books for Babies is a national program that seeks to educate parents about the important role books play in a child's development.  For more information and a link to the application, click here.