An early literacy book celebration

Children under six enjoyed a day of activities and went home with free books in Haitian Creole, French, Spanish and English. A special invitation went out to all Haitian and Haitian American families in the area, and the room filled with the best sound a literacy organization can hear: small children laughing over open books.

Celebrations like this one do something a shipment of books cannot do on its own. They put a book in a child's hand in front of the family, they make reading a shared event rather than a school chore, and they let parents see how early literacy begins. For many of the youngest guests this was the first book they ever owned.

Thank you to every volunteer who read aloud, ran an activity table and packed book bags. Watch our news page and social channels for the next celebration.