1,000 Books Before Kindergarten at Swanton Library!

two children reading a book

SET CHILDREN ON THE PATH TO SUCCESS . . . ONE BOOK AT A TIME

The concept is simple, the rewards are priceless. The “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” program is a nationwide challenge that encourages parents and caregivers to regularly read aloud to their children. Read 1,000 books with your child before they start kindergarten and you will provide your child with a rich background that will help them become better readers. It isn’t as hard as it sounds! If you read just one book a day together, you will read 365 books in a year. At that rate, in three years you will have read over 1,000 books easily. 

So if you haven’t already, get started! The Swanton Public Library is pleased to offer 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten to encourage you to read with your child and to provide incentives and fun as you do it. 

Here’s what you do:

  1. Register your child at the library. You can do this before you start, or if you'd prefer, you can print out the form for the first 100 books below and then register when you've completed it.
  2. Record the titles of the books you read. Use the form we provide at the library or download the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten App (available for both Apple and Android phones). Simply write the titles on the physical forms or scan the book’s UPC barcode into the app. Note: Rereading books counts as a new book every time! For example, if your child has a favorite you read together twenty times, then it counts for twenty books towards your goal.
  3. Report at the library for every 100 books read. Bring each completed form to the library so it can be filed with your registration form or show us your progress in the app and we will keep a record of it here. 
  4. Have your child choose a prize from our prize box and have their picture taken for our wall of 1,000 Books readers. You get ten prizes in all, one for every 100 books read!
  5. When you reach 1,000 books, your child will receive a special gift and certificate of completion, as well as have a special picture taken for our wall.
  6. Enjoy the rewards of raising a lifelong reader! 

The first 100 books Form