Ten Things Every Child Needs At birth, an infant’s brain is only 25 percent of the size of an average adult’s brain. Incredibly, by age 3, a child’s brain has grown to 90 percent of that of an adult's brain. During infancy and early childhood, children are flooded with new experiences that impact their brain development. The first 3 years of a child’s life offer parents and other caregivers an amazing opportunity to shape the child’s growth and form healthy habits that will last a lifetime. Encourage Interaction A child’s brain develops based on early experiences at home. The more interactions a child has, the healthier his/her development will be. Offer Physical Affection Physical affection communicates love to young children, which in turn fosters positive emotional growth. Provide a Stable Relationship Children who have a stable relationship with at least one caregiver learn at a faster pace, feel better about themselves, and make friends more easily. Maintain a Safe, Healthy Home Creating a safe and healthy home and/or child care environment allows you to maximize children’s growth with minimal risk. Develop Strong Self Esteem A strong sense of self is the foundation for healthy development in young children. Engage in Conversation Communicating with your child/children not only shows love, but also encourages the development of his/her speech patterns. Make Music Music offers children an outlet for expression and stimulates brain development in specific areas including language and reasoning. Make Reading a Priority Reading with children demonstrates a love for books and learning, and is a wonderful way for parents/caregivers and children to spend quality time together. Promote Play Playing provides children with an outlet for imagination and creativity and fosters healthy brain development. Choose Quality Childcare Since childcare settings can be a primary learning environment for children, the quality of the child care setting is very important. The first 3 years of life are the most critical in terms of encouraging healthy development. It is important for parents and caregivers to start as soon as possible to build the foundation that will help their children reach their full potential. The good news is that what every child needs—every parent and caregiver can give. If we care for our children and give them what they need early in life, their future will be full of possibilities. Source: 10 Things Every Child Needs DVD, Copyright 1997. Used with permission from the McCormick Foundation and ND Dept. of Human Services.

Impact Impact before School* Children under age 6 whose family members read to them 3 days a week: New Jersey - 42% First Library - 75% Impact after School* Five year-olds who performed better than expected/much better than expected: Pre-K First Library graduates - 64% Nonparticipants - 11% Kindergarten First Library graduates - 48% Nonparticipants - 10% Impact in High Risk Homes A 2015 Department of Education, Dollywood Foundation and Parents as Teachers study of children in high risk environments showed a 35% increase in families with 26 or more books in the home 29% increase in children pretending to read books once or more a day 22% increase in family reading books together once or more a day 19% increase in families who own library cards Innovative Approaches to Literacy Results of the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Project Childhood Illiteracy** Fourth grade Below proficient New Jersey - 51% USA - 65% Eighth grade Below proficient New Jersey - 53% USA - 65% WHY FIRST LIBRARY? Children have stronger early reading skills. Children are more prepared for school. Fosters strong speech and vocabulary. Children develop essential life skills. Children begin school with print and book component concepts. Increased parental engagement and reading. Increase in book ownership. Excitement about books and reading. Increase in library patronage. Predictor of future academic success. Fourth grade reading achievement levels - NJ Proficiency in reading by the end of third grade is a crucial marker in a child's educational development. In the early years, learning to read is a critical component of education. But beginning in fourth grade, children use reading to learn other subjects, and therefore, mastery of reading becomes a critical component in their ability to keep up academically. Children who reach fourth grade without being able to read proficiently are more likely to drop out of high school, reducing their earnings potential and chances for success. 22% Below basic 78% At or above basic 51% Below proficient 49% At or above proficient Eighth grade reading achievement levels - NJ 18% Below basic 82% At or above basic 53% Below proficient 47% At or above proficient References * imaginationlibrary.com * * datacenter.kidscount.org

Sign up to become a CAT (Community Action Team) Volunteer! Spread the word about First Library's mission and program. Print and distribute our flyer in your community. Promote our fundraising efforts. See below. Name* Community* Zip Code(s)* Email Address* Phone* Message SUBMIT Spread the word about First Library and its fundraising efforts for preschoolers in your community. Print and distribute our flyer in your community today! REGISTER TO PRINT OUR FLYER

Create a Fundraising Page First Library has partnered with Give Lively (givelively.org) to help supporters fundraise for their community. Text our special code (00001) to First Library’s page @ 443-21 and create a fundraising page for your town.* Personalize it and share it on social media, over email or text. All funds raised stay in your town and benefit local preschool children with the gift of free books monthly. Every $5.00 donation gives a new book to a preschool child in your community. *Please allow up to five minutes for zip code addition. CREATE A FUNRASING PAGE

2019 Book List (2 points) INFANTS Sassy: Bedtime for Baby Where’s Ellie? I Love You, Spot Baby Sounds Look at the Animals Pudgy Peek-a-Boo Who Says Quack? Pudgy Pat a Cake Pudgy Book of Mother Goose I Love My Mommy Because Baby! Talk! ONE YEAR OLDS Good Night Gorilla Good Morning Farm Friends Clap Your Hands Corduroy’s Shapes When the Elephant Walks I Love My Daddy Because Where is Your Nose? Little Poems for Tiny Ears Road Builders Oliver’s Tree Sassy: Baby’s First Words Sassy: Let’s Count Llama, Llama Red Pajama TWO YEAR OLDS The Bug Book Sleep Train Dog’s Colorful Day Hueys: What’s the Opposite? If I Were a Kangaroo One Leaf, Two Leaves Count with Me I Hear a Pickle Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave Little Excavator I Am A Rainbow There’s a Hole in the Log in the Bottom of the Lake Shh! Bears Sleeping Baking Day at Grandma’s THREE YEAR OLDS Chimpanzees for Tea Max & the Tagalong Moon Silly Goose’s Big Story The Rabbit Listened I Just Want to Say Goodnight With Any Luck I’ll Drive a Truck Goodnight Numbers The Giant Jumparee Edie is Ever So Helpful Philomena’s New Glasses The Very Hungry Caterpillar The Snowy Day FOUR YEAR OLDS Excellent Ed Lion Lessons Pup & Bear Bunny’s Book Club Peace is an Offering The Ring Bearer The First Strawberries Run Wild Otis & the Kittens Ladybug Girl & the Rescue Dogs Llama Llama Loves to Read FIVE YEAR OLDS Last Stop on Market Street Daniel Finds a Poem Violet the Pilot Tale of Peter Rabbit The Gruffalo Blue Sky White Stars Fly Butterfly Hooray, a Piñata Eat Pete Owl Moon Brother Eagle, Sister Sky PREVIOUS YEARS BOOK TITLES

2010 - 2014 Book List Click Here to Add a Title

Click Here to Add a Title First Library reserves the right to offer all clothing donations to its First Library Plus first time mothers in need program participants free of charge.

Newborn children of expectant and single first time mothers can receive new educational toys, clothing and gifts courtesy of First Library® and TOT4TOT.

First Library Parent Pledge First Library’s vision is to give every first born child a foundation for a love of reading and library patronage by actively involving their mothers in the process. Mothers are asked to read to their child daily and are required to visit their local library monthly. A yearly parent pledge is required for participation in the First Library program. Mothers are also asked to complete quarterly reading surveys and biannual questionnaires. New Mothers First Born Child Reading Aloud Daily New Educational Toys Library Visits Library Activities Parents who read to their child while asking minimal questions during reading, and pausing infrequently, had children who did not talk very much. On the other hand, parents who paused frequently during the story had children who asked more questions, talked more, and engaged in conversation. Home-School Study, DeTemple (2001) http://thenounproject.com The Noun Project Icon Template Reminders Strokes Try to keep strokes at 4px Minimum stroke weight is 2px For thicker strokes use even numbers: 6px, 8px etc. Remember to expand strokes before saving as an SVG Size Cannot be wider or taller than 100px (artboard size) Scale your icon to fill as much of the artboard as possible Ungroup If your design has more than one shape, make sure to ungroup Save as Save as .SVG and make sure “Use Artboards” is checked 100px .SVG First Library Pledge Year One Thank you for registering for the First Library program. Please fill out and submit First Library's Parent Pledge for admission into our program. Thank you. PARENT PLEDGE - FIRST YEAR Reading aloud is the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading. Reach Out and Read, Archives of Disease in Childhood, Reading Aloud to Children: The Evidence, 2008. First Library Pledge Year Two Thank you for your child's participation in the First Library program. Please fill out and submit First Library's Parent Pledge for continued participation in our program. Thank you. PARENT PLEDGE - SECOND YEAR “ Wonderfully helpful and generous people and a great aim to make a practical difference. Sam K. ” By the age of 2, children who are read to regularly display greater language comprehension, larger vocabularies, and higher cognitive skills than their peers. Raikes, H., Pan, B.A., Luze, G.J., Tamis-LeMonda, C.S.,Brooks-Gunn, J., Constantine, J., Tarullo, L.B., Raikes, H.A., Rodriguez, E. (2006).h Out and Read, Archives of Disease in Childhood, Reading Aloud to Children: The Evidence, 2008. First Library Pledge Year Three Thank you for your child's participation in the First Library program. Please fill out and submit First Library's Parent Pledge for continued participation in our program. Thank you. PARENT PLEDGE - THIRD YEAR http://thenounproject.com The Noun Project Icon Template Reminders Strokes Try to keep strokes at 4px Minimum stroke weight is 2px For thicker strokes use even numbers: 6px, 8px etc. Remember to expand strokes before saving as an SVG Size Cannot be wider or taller than 100px (artboard size) Scale your icon to fill as much of the artboard as possible Ungroup If your design has more than one shape, make sure to ungroup Save as Save as .SVG and make sure “Use Artboards” is checked 100px .SVG