1000 Books Before Kindergarten – Central Arkansas Library System
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1000 Books Before Kindergarten
On behalf of the Central Arkansas Library System and the 1,000 Books Foundation, we invite you to participate in this free program which encourages you to read 1,000 books with your child before he or she starts kindergarten.
What is 1000 Books
The concept is simple; the rewards are priceless. Read a book (any book) to your baby, toddler, or preschooler. The goal is to have read 1,000 books (yes, you can repeat books) before your precious one starts kindergarten. It may sound hard, but think about it this way: If you read just 1 book a night, you will have read about 365 books in a year. That is 730 books in two years and 1,095 books in three years. If you consider that most children start kindergarten at around 5 years of age, you have more time than you think, but it’s time to get started.
The key is perseverance. Make it exciting. When your child reaches a milestone, give him/her a small reward (stickers, backpacks, books). Be sure and visit the library and pick up a sticker each time your child reads 100 books. When you have read 1000 books, the library will give your child a free book for your home library!
How To Participate
Participation in the program is easy. All participants have to do is read with a child and track the titles of the books that have been read. Parents can choose between tracking books read electronically via
cals.beanstack.org
or by using a paper log.
Log-in or sign-up at
cals.beanstack.org
and add your preschool child as a reader.  They can join the 1000 Books program and log books read to earn badges. OR
CALS will provide log sheets (at the bottom of this page) for each participant.
Participants can collect a sticker from their local branch for every 100 books read.
Once 10 stickers are collected, a prize will be given to that participant. Any child from birth to entering kindergarten may participate.
The program is self-paced; If you wish to keep a paper log, log sheets may be downloaded below or picked up at any CALS branch location.
Starter Reading List
The following list of 100 titles is simply to help get you started toward 1000 books. You are not required to read any of these books to participate in our 1000 Books program
A - C
D - J
K - O
P - Z
Alborough, Jez:
Where’s My Teddy?
Asch, Frank:
Happy Birthday, Moon
Bang, Molly:
Ten, Nine, Eight
Barrett, Judi:
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing
Barton, Byron:
The Three Bears
Becker, Bonny:
A Visitor for Bear
Bemelmans, Ludwig:
Madeline
Bornstein, Ruth:
Little Gorilla
Brett, Jan:
The Mitten
Brown, Marcia:
Stone Soup
Brown, Margaret Wise:
Goodnight Moon
Brunhoff, Jean de:
The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant
Burningham, John:
Mr. Gumpy’s Outing
Burton, Virginia Lee:
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Cannon, Janell:
Stellaluna
Carle, Eric:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Christelow, Eileen:
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Coffelt, Nancy:
Fred Stays with Me
Crews, Donald:
Freight Train
Cronin, Doreen:
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type
Day, Alexandra:
Good Dog, Carl
Degen, Bruce:
Jamberry
Dorros, Arthur:
Abuela
Eastman, P.D.:
Are You My Mother?
Ehlert, Lois:
Feathers for Lunch
Emberley, Ed:
Go Away, Big Green Monster!
Falconer, Ian:
Olivia
Feiffer, Jules:
Bark, George
Flack, Marjorie:
Ask Mr. Bear
Fleming, Denise:
Mama Cat Has Three Kittens
Fox, Mem:
Where is the Green Sheep?
Freeman, Don:
Corduroy
Gag, Wanda:
Millions of Cats
Goble, Paul:
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Guarino, Deborah:
Is Your Mama a Llama?
Henkes, Kevin:
Kitten’s First Full Moon
Ho, Minfong:
Hush!: A Thai Lullaby
Hoban, Russell:
Bread and Jam for Frances
Hoban, Tana:
Is it Red? Is it Yellow? Is it Blue? An Adventure in Color
Hoffman, Mary:
Amazing Grace
Holabird, Katherine:
Angelina Ballerina
Hutchins, Pat:
Rosie’s Walk
Jenkins, Steve:
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Johnson, Crockett:
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Juster, Norton:
The Hello, Goodbye Window
Kasza, Keiko:
The Wolf’s Chicken Stew
Keats, Ezra Jack:
The Snowy Day
Kennedy, Jimmy:
The Teddy Bears’ Picnic
Kent, Jack:
The Caterpillar and the Polliwog
Kimmel, Eric:
Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock
Kraus, Robert:
Whose Mouse are You?
Kraus, Ruth:
The Carrot Seed
Leaf, Munro:
The Story of Ferdinand
Lionni, Leo:
Little Blue and Little Yellow
Lobel, Anita:
On Market Street
Lobel, Arnold:
Frog and Toad Are Friends
London, Jonathan:
Froggy Gets Dressed
Martin, Bill:
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Martin, Bill:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Mayer, Mercer:
Frog Goes to Dinner
McBratney, Sam:
Guess How Much I Love You
McCloskey, Robert:
Make Way for Ducklings
McFarland, Lyn:
Widget
McKissack, Pat:
Goin’ Someplace Special
McLimans, David:
Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet
McPhail, David:
Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore
Meddaugh, Susan:
Martha Speaks
Mullan, Kate and Jim:
I Stink!
Noble, Trinka:
The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash
Numeroff, Laura:
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
O’Connor, Jane:
Fancy Nancy
Penn, Audrey:
The Kissing Hand
Pinkney, Sandra:
Shades of Black
Piper, Watty:
The Little Engine that Could
Potter, Beatrix:
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Rathmann, Peggy:
Good Night, Gorilla
Rey, H.A.:
Curious George
Rohman, Eric:
My Friend Rabbit
Rosen, Michael:
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Rylant, Cynthia:
The Relatives Came
Say, Allen:
Grandfather’s Journey
Seeger, Laura Vaccaro:
First the Egg
Sendak, Maurice:
Where the Wild Things Are
Seuss, Dr.:
Green Eggs and Ham
Seuss, Dr.:
The Cat in the Hat
Shannon, David:
Duck on a Bike
Shaw, Charles:
It Looked Like Spilt Milk
Simont, Marc:
The Stray Dog
Slobodkina, Esphyr:
Caps for Sale
Taback, Simms:
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Wells, Rosemary:
Noisy Nora
Westcott, Nadine:
The Lady with the Alligator Purse
Wiesner, David:
The Three Pigs
Willems, Mo:
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Wood, Audrey:
The Napping House
Yolen, Jane:
How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?
Young, Ed:
Seven Blind Mice
Zimmerman, Andrea:
Trashy Town
Zion, Gene:
Harry, The Dirty Dog
FAQ
Who can participate in this program?
Any child from birth until he or she enters kindergarten can participate in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program.
How long will the program take?
The program will take anywhere from a few months to a few years. The program is self-paced and will depend on how often you read together.
How many of my children can participate?
All of them (provided they have not yet started kindergarten). Make it even more fun and read as a family!
How do I track my child’s progress?
Sign-up for an account at cals.beanstack.org and make sure your child is on your account as a reader.  He or she can join the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program and log the books you read to earn digital badges.  If you’d rather keep track on paper, you can print the log forms, or pick them up at any CALS branch location.
Printable Log Forms
booklog_1-100
booklog_101-200
booklog_201-300
booklog_301-400
booklog_401-500
booklog_501-600
booklog_601-700
booklog_701-800
booklog_801-900
booklog_901-1000
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CALS Foundation
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print this donation form
, fill it out and mail it with your check to:
Central Arkansas Library System
100 Rock Street
Little Rock, AR. 72201
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ADDRESS
Central Arkansas Library System
100 Rock Street
Little Rock, AR. 72201
PHONE NUMBER
501-918-3000
EMAIL
askcals@cals.org
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