BEGIN WITH BOOKS: Our Local Literacy Heroes

March 2, 2017, by Katie Noguchi -- On this day, Read Across America Day, we usually celebrate authors like Dr. Seuss (whose birthday was the choice for the annual reading celebration). Today, however, I would like to celebrate a different type of literacy hero, but first here is a little background. Many of your preschool-aged children might be receiving books from BEGIN WITH BOOKS, Charleston’s branch of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. This program sends free books every month to children under age five in select zip codes in Charleston County. The greater program, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, was begun by Dolly Parton as a way to get quality books into communities (starting with her home county) so that all children could learn the magic that books have to offer. The program does not discriminate based on income. Any child living in the area served is eligible. Meaning, that regardless of income, parent education level, native language, or any other difference that can affect literacy, these children all start school having read some of the same books and share some similar foundational vocabulary. Read the rest of this article at Charleston Moms Blog.