About the Program
1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a free and flexible early literacy program for babies, toddlers and their caregivers. The goal of the program is to read 1000 Books to your child before they enter school. 1000 books may sound like a lot—especially for folks with little ones—but:
- Three books a day for 1 year = 1095 books
- One book a day for 3 years = 1095 books
You are likely doing this already and using the tracker will make it even more fun and motivating for you and your child as you track your reading progress and your child’s milestones.
How Does it Work?
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!
- Visit any of our 24 branches or Bookmobile sites to register and pick up your tracker. All you need is an HPL Library Card (we can create one for you).
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Read and Track: Every time you read a book with your child, colour in a star on your tracker. Read, colour, and repeat until you’ve reached 1000 books!
Listened to a book together? Attended a storytime? Read the same book 5 times? They all count towards your 1000 books.
- Celebrate! Bring your tracker to any HPL location to collect a Milestone Certificate at 100, 250, 500 and 750 books and your certificate of completion at 1000 books!