Introducing 1000 Books Before Kindergarten

Starting in 2020, you can help your child prepare for Kindergarten at your local library! Cass County Public Library will offer 1000 Books Before Kindergarten at every branch. Through this program, you can help build your child’s reading skills so that they can succeed when they get to school. 1000 Books Before Kindergarten is based on research showing that the more books children ages 0-5 hear read aloud, the more prepared they will be to begin reading on their own.

Any child 0-5, or who has not yet entered Kindergarten, may participate in the program. Completing the program can take a few months to a few years, depending on how often you and your child read together. In fact, if you read 3 books together each day, you will have read 1000 books in just one year! The program is self-paced; the library will provide forms for tracking. Of course, there is also a 1000 Books Before Kindergarten app for digital tracking, too. For every 100 books your child reads, they will receive a stamp and their next log. Once they have read 1000 books, they receive a certificate and free book!

On the way to 1000, children will meet new friends on their reading logs, too.

We are happy to offer this program at all of our branches. You can sign up at your local branch or visit our 1000 Books page to sign up online.