Imagination Library

We get free books in the mail! Do you?

When my son was a month or two old, I registered him for the Imagination Library program here in Tennessee. This is a FREE program that mails each participant (child) a picture book once a month (for their first five years of age). How cool is that? Who doesn't like to get something in the mail!? Another great way to get your child excited about reading!

The Imagination Library seems to do a really great job with the books they select to be used. My son has only received a handful of books from the program at this point, but has loved each one. I was actually surprised by how much he enjoyed some of these stories, especially at his young age.

The first book each child receives when they join the program, regardless of their age, is The Little Engine That Could. Isaac doesn't care for this one much yet, but I'm hoping he will enjoy it more as his attention span increases. After that, the book selections seem to be chosen based on developmental appropriateness.  

So far, Isaac's favorites are Kitty Up, Lull-a-Bye Little One, and Wake-Up Sleepy Bear. Not only are these Isaac's favorites from The Imagination Library, they are also some of his favorites from his entire home library. He gets a huge grin on his face when I pull one of these out for us to read. Sometime I recite some of the text from Lull-a-Bye Little One when he's in the bathtub (there's a part about bubbles and a rubber duck), and he gets a real kick out of that! I love that we've read this book enough that he recognizes the words, even without the book in front of him.

The Imagination Library is a free program, like I mentioned early. The aim is to provide all children with books of their own so they can be reading at home. I think that is simply awesome. This program is unbelievable! Obviously, they take donations, and I plan to donate at least the amount it costs to cover the books Isaac receives (somewhere around $20-$30/year). 

I'm not sure how far reaching this program is beyond Tennessee (Dolly Parton started the program here). So if you live here, be sure to check and see if the program is available in your area and sign-up! If you live elsewhere, see if something like this is available. You might be surprised. If it's not, perhaps you can be part of the founding of some kind of program like it!

You can find some of Isaac's favorite Imagination Library books in the Literacy Launchpad Store!

Gather 'Round My Soapbox

I'm sure most people have heard about the recent school shooting at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois. It was especially startling news for me to hear last night, because I attended NIU for a brief time before moving to Tennessee. I am originally from the Chicago area. My sisters graduated from NIU, friends of mine have attended the university, and my brother-in-law is currently a student there (he was not on campus the day of the shooting).

But I am not distraught simply over the fact that a shooting has happened at a location I used to frequent. I am distraught over how common these shooting rampages have become in our country. Did you know that there have been four (at least) school shootings this week in this country? Four! In one week! And it's not just happening in our schools. It's happening at our malls, and at our churches... Why???

There don't appear to be any easy answers or explanations for why these tragedies keep happening. But it seems that random, shooting rampages have sadly become a sign of the times.

I heard a psychologist on the Today Show this morning being asked about the possible motives of the NIU shooter, and she began talking about this generation's addiction to fame. She encouraged the media to stop giving so much news coverage to these suicide shooters. And I whole-heartedly agree with her. In fact, my husband and I had been discussing the very same thing last night.

I remember feeling unbelievably frustrated when the Virginia Tech shooting happened and NBC aired the video that the shooter had recorded of himself previous to the shooting. I don't understand how anybody with a shred of humanity could justify airing that video. It really made me feel physically sick to hear about that (I never watched the video myself).

I understand that we all have a natural curiosity to know want to know what kind of a person could do these horrible things. I really do get that. But if not knowing could potentially save lives in the future, I would much rather not know. Wouldn't you? I don't want to know the shooter's name. I don't want to see their photo. I don't want to hear anything about them. Instead of immortalizing a killer, how about we sensationalize the humanity that arose out of the situation from the victims and survivors?

I have sent a letter to the major news networks (MSNBC, FOX, ABC, CNN. Did I forget any?) encouraging them to limit their coverage of these kinds of shooters. I let them know that as a news viewer/reader/listener, this is not something I desire to know about. Will it make a difference? Maybe... Maybe not. But it's at least one small way I can make a stand in helping to prevent future violence of this kind. If you feel the same way I do, I STRONGLY encourage you to do the same thing.