The Verde Valley Imagination Library will host a graduation ceremony for the children who have aged out of its reading program to sign them up for their own library card on Saturday, May 11, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Garrison Park in Cottonwood.
VVIL provides a free book every month for children from birth through age 5 at no cost to their families. The books are selected by a panel of educators and follow different themes throughout a child’s development. The books arrive in the mail addressed directly to each child, allowing them to create their own personal library. The inside flaps of many of these books offer guides and ideas to help parents engage their children while reading.
Staff from the Cottonwood Public Library, Camp Verde Community Library and Sedona Public Library will be present to sign the kids up for their first library cards and provide information regarding their upcoming summer reading programs.
“We really just want to encourage the children that are graduating out of the program this year to get their library card,” program director Janet Sandoval said.
Parents can enroll their children in the VVIL program at the event as well if they have not already signed up.
The occasion will feature a balloon artist, music, face painting, popcorn and a shaved ice truck, all at no cost. VVIL staff will also have extra books on hand to distribute.
Graduates will be receiving a certificate of achievement and a T-shirt.
“We want to create lifelong readers,” Sandoval said. “Having your library card inspires you to go check out all different genres of literature and it opens up a whole world. It’s great for their brain development.”
Sandoval added that the Dolly Parton-supported program has done studies that show that children perform much better on reading tests later in school after participating in the reading program. She also likened the kids in the program to having their own little book club, and told a story about a kindergarten teacher who told her that when she would read a book in the classroom, kids would say they had already read it when they were in the program. The students would then discuss the book among themselves, having formed a connection from reading the same book.
VVIL also partners with local hospitals to register babies for the program at birth. Sandoval said she had discovered that only about half of the babies born locally were enrolling, which she attributed to their families having an older child who was already enrolled in the program and receiving books.
“It’s very important that each child has their own set of books with their name on it so that they have ownership of those books,” Sandoval said. “I would encourage all the parents to enroll all their children. The books also change each year.”
She said that while hand-me-downs are useful, the kids should be able to have their own personal little libraries that they can call their own and grow.
For information, email jsandoval@vvilbooks.org
