1000 Books Before Kindergarten

1000 Books Before Kindergarten (1KB4K) is our newest early literacy initiative at the Alma Public Library! The primary goal of the 1KB4K program is to create a bond between a child and their caregiver while creating a love of reading. Through this program, children gain the skills necessary to become independent, confident readers!

Reading one thousand books before kindergarten seems like a huge feat, but it is really very achievable! For example, if you and your child read just one book at bedtime every night, in one year you'll have read 365 books; at the end of year two, you've read 730 books, and after three years you've read 1,095 - you met AND SURPASSED the goal of 1,000 books in just three years!

THE PROGRAM

To sign up for the program, you can visit the library and fill out a registration. As you complete every 100 books, stop by the library to get your prize, picture, and new tracking sheet! Once you're registered, you can also print out a new tracking sheet!

Any child can participate in this program, from birth until they enter kindergarten. The best part is that EVERY SINGLE BOOK your child reads will count to the 1,000 book goal. That means books at storytime, bedtime stories, audiobooks, books older siblings read with them, and so on! And, rereads count toward the total! So if you read Llama Llama Red Pajama three times every night before bed, you get to count that book three times every single day!

For more information from the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten foundation, visit their website. We also have an instructional sheet available here.