This is just one of the amazing stories made possible by Brew for Books. Your book donations benefit children under age 5 served by TFC. Families in these programs speak over 20 languages.

Adam has access to a full library of children’s books at his daughter’s child care center through a partnership with The Family Conservancy. Even though there are hundreds of books to choose from, as they peruse the small library of books each afternoon, his daughter almost always reaches for their favorite book, “Goodnight Moon”.

After the tenth time Alissa chose “Goodnight Moon”, Adam decided to encourage his daughter to choose a different book. After a few moments, Alissa’s teacher stepped in and  suggested Adam let her choose the book again. She explained that repetition is important for young children who are developing early literacy skills. She suggested that when they read the book tonight, Adam skip a few words and see if Alissa would notice.

Later that evening, sitting on the couch with Alissa in his lap, Adam began to read, “In the great green room there was a telephone … and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon …” Alissa immediately began to laugh and asked, “what about the red balloon?” Of course, that was exactly what he had left out. Adam thanked Alissa for catching his mistake and continued reading, and each time he skipped a phrase, she corrected him.

Adam had always heard that reading to children was important, and he really enjoyed spending the time with his daughter, but the exercise turned on a light on.  Adam now understands how the repeated reading of “Goodnight Moon” is helping Alissa learn words and develop pre-reading skills. Now, when they’re choosing a book from the library, they choose a new one, and Alissa’s favorite.