Beyond the Book: Encouraging Emerging Readers

Abstract

Emerging reader books (call them early or easy, that’s a discussion for another article) have come into their own since the Geisel Award was first presented in 2006 and the success of series like Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie.

But learning to read independently is a daunting challenge—quality books are just one of the tools librarians across the country are employing to help children master this critical milestone and develop a lifelong love of reading. What are libraries doing, beyond the book, to help?