County Kids Read

Celebrating fifteen years of bringing books to kids

On Saturday, County Kids Read will hold a birthday party in Benson Park celebrating 15 years of bringing books to children and families. On average, County Kids Read now gives out about 600 books per month to children from newborn to age12. County Kids Read had its beginning when Anne Preston questioned why children’s literacy skills in the County were well below the provincial average. She had been a Literacy Coordinator with the Toronto District School Board, and together with a group of volunteers determined that one way to improve literacy scores was to provide more opportunities for reading to young children. “We know from research that literacy acquisition is very dependent on having children’s books in the house,” she said. As a model, they chose the Children’s Book Bank in Toronto, which provides free books to children, and they adapted it to the County setting. “A book bank in an urban centre is very different because children can walk or take transit to the book bank. Here we are in a rural situation and we settled on that we would take books to the children,” said Ms. Preston.

At first they worked with community partners such as the Store House food bank, and books were given to participating families. In the beginning, the books were ones that had been donated, but as demand increased a team of volunteers began sourcing new books. “That’s something I’m really proud of. This collection is stellar. Our volunteers source books from clearing houses, from First Books Canada, from Scholastic, as different children’s presses. We get all the books at a substantial discount and we also negotiate not paying for shipping, because it is expensive as books are very heavy,” said Ms. Preston. After a time, County Kids Read partnered with St. Mary Magdalene Church in Picton to open a book room in the church hall. Children from Prince Edward Collegiate Institute (or formerly from Queen Elizabeth School) make regular visits to the book room where there are allowed to choose a book to take home. “There’s the whole idea of ownership. The children own the books. There’s that pride of ownership and the kids are so excited to get a book. We have had a lot of feedback from the parents. In fact, there was one parent who was learning to read with their child. Our graphic novels are very popular with what are called reluctant readers,” said Ms. Preston.

Currently, County Kids Read works with 14 community partners, including Sophiasburgh School and Athol South Marysburgh School. They also take part in numerous community events, handing out books to kids. They are quite happy to have kids double-dipping or even triple-dipping—getting a book at school as well as at community events. “You can never have too many books in a home,” said Ms. Preston. Books are also given to parents when a baby is born as well as at the 18-month checkup, where the doctor writes a prescription to read. Ms. Preston said that literacy acquisition is closely correlated to the availability of books in the home. She noted that research shows that one in six children who are not reading proficiently in Grade 3 do not graduate from high school, a rate that is four times greater than proficient readers.

County Kids Read is partly funded by grants from the municipality and the Huff Family Foundation, but the bulk of the funding comes from donors. The demand for books increased during the pandemic and remains high. It is a demand that County Kids Read is pleased to support. “Books and literacy is a pathway to having a better life. It will improve your health, your employment opportunities and your social outcomes,” said Ms. Preston. The County Kids Read Birthday Bash takes place on Saturday at Benson Park, from 10 a.m. to noon. There will be storytelling, poetry by Free Range Poetry, crafts with Nella Casson, games, and birthday cupcakes. In the event of rain, the birthday party will move to Picton Town Hall.