The first five years are the time when children are developing the key early literacy skills that will prepare them to learn and succeed. Below are examples of specific key areas of literacy that children need to learn, and suggestion for how to work with a child to develop these literacy skills.

  • Learning to tell stories (Narrative skills) - by reading a picture book often with a child, she will eventually learn how to tell that story by looking at the pictures.
  • How to Tell a Story

  • Learning letters (Letter knowledge) – help a child learn the names of the letters of the alphabet by pointing out different letters in an alphabet book.
  • Learning basic words (Vocabulary) – use picture books to point out the names of things the child comes in contact with every day: fruits, vegetables, cars, dogs, etc.
  • Learning sounds (Phonological awareness)- read books that help the child learn different sounds, like a cow mooing or a dog barking. Singing songs and saying rhymes also help the child learn new sounds.
  • Learn what books she likes ( Print motivation) – find out what interests the child and find similar books that you can both share. Choose books that are interactive and get the child involved.
  • Learn to care for a book ( Print awareness) - show the child how to hold and care for a book and how to turn the pages.

The raising readers Book Committee works hard to offer a variety of beautifully illustrated picture books, which focus on sounds, colors, images, letters and numbers, the building blocks of early literacy. See below for additional books that you can recommend to parents to help them understand the fundamentals of early literacy.

Resources to Recommend to parents:
Raising Readers | P.O. Box 17826 | Portland, Maine 04112 | Phone: 1-800-397-3263
Libra Foundation