Bookstart

Bookstart
(http://www.bookstart.org.uk)
(http://www.bookstart.org.uk/have-some-fun/#/static/bookstart/have-some-fun/)
(http://www.bookstart.org.uk/have-some-fun/#/static/bookstart/have-some-fun/activities/owl_babies/)
(http://www.bookstart.org.uk/books/)


A 20 year old world-renowned international reading program which gifts free books to babies, toddlers and 3 year olds. Bookstart was launched under the administration of the British national independent charity Booktrust, with joint effort from the School of Education at the University of Birmingham, and several medical and library organizations. The organization encourages parents to read to their children to give them not only a richer life but better score in academic examinations. Bookstart educates parents with research revealing that children who are exposed to books, in a parent-child reading environment, are more linguistically skilled and they perform better in computational skills such as mathematics. 


The website offers many enriching options for children and parents. The "Have some fun" link is particularly useful for early literacy. There are rhymes (fun with rhymes and stories with rhymes), coloring pages, music and songs, jigsaw puzzles, shape games, and ebooks. The ebooks are particularly useful because they come with tips (see Owl Babies and Some Dogs Do) to assist parents with didactic reading skills. Parents often know that it is best to ask their baby questions and make books more participatory but often don't know how to exactly go about to accomplish that goal. This site makes it easier and shows exactly the types of questions that a child can be asked. The site also offers suggestions about things that can be pointed out to add to the book experience. 


The Book Finder is also very useful. Age appropriateness is not an issue because the books are clearly divided into appropriate books for: baby, toddler, and preschooler then grouped into themes. The browsing experience is more orderly and visually appealing as the books are displayed on a bookshelf and do not become floating icons. 


In Taipei, the Bookstart program offers a weekly storytime for children 18 months and up and bimonthly for infants and toddlers (6-18 months). Public storytelling is a different experience than individual parent-child reading. A child can look around and see other babies with adults and observes other forms of interaction. In addition, it is another enriching form of reading and interacting that is impossible to capture between with just a parent and child. Being in a collective group activity and with other parents and babies is important at times for both parties. It's important for babies to experience that and not be isolated for other adults and babies and parents can benefit observing a trained storyteller. It's also very important for infant/toddlers/children to see a larger context that books provide. Books bring people together and encourage joy and discovery. 


In regards to the formal elements, Bookstart can satisfy all of the needed early literacy skills. The books are chosen by professionals with these elements in mind. Even if the program is not offered in an area, the resources still can be used by parents to discover books to share with their children.