Books from Birth
Igniting Literacy for Every Newborn
Books from Birth partners with hospitals systems and home visiting organizations to send newborns home with a starter home library of 10 new board books. Books from Birth is a core component of Book Harvest's Early Literacy System of Care.
What is Books from Birth?
Book Harvest’s Books from Birth program partners with hospitals to send newborns home with a starter home library of 10 brand new board books.
Healthcare providers provide new parents with this home library packaged in a Books from Birth box that includes a onesie and additional resources that help families foster early language and reading routines from a baby's first days.
Books from Birth lays the foundation for early relational health and optimal brain development in the first five years -- a precondition for school readiness, academic success, and a healthy childhood that leads to a lifetime of flourishing.
Books from Birth launched in March 2023.
Why Books from Birth Matters
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Literacy support from a family's medical team increases active engagement in literacy activities at home, including reading aloud several times every week and reporting that reading together is a favorite shared family activity. [1]
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Books in the home are the single biggest predictor of a child’s reading proficiency and long-term success in school [2], and regular reading from birth improves infant language scores by as early as 9 months of age. [3]
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A guiding principle of the American Academy of Pediatrics is that literacy begins at birth in the home, with parents. [4]
Joining the Books from Birth Network
Hospitals that are eligible to join Book Harvest's Books from Birth network commit to:
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participating in the program for a minimum of 12 months;
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working with Book Harvest to secure funding to reach every newborn in the hospital;
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providing all families who give birth in the hospital with a Books from Birth box containing 10 new specially-curated books and additional literacy resources;
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coordinating the attendance of relevant staff at learning sessions with Book Harvest;
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assigning a hospital staff person to conduct monthly check-ins with Book Harvest;
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and providing monthly reporting of data.
Interested in learning more about Books from Birth? Contact Jeff Quinn, COO, at jeff@bookharvest.org.