Books Before Birth

with Read to Your Bunny by Rosemary Wells and Reading Magic by Mem Fox

A partnership project of:
Family Reading Partnership
Our Community

Participating Obstetricians, Midwives and Family Practitioners:
Cayuga Women’s Health
The Midwives
OB-GYN Associates of Ithaca

Overview

Families expecting a baby receive the children’s book Read to Your Bunny, by Rosemary Wells and a bookmark emphasizing the importance of establishing read aloud traditions at home, beginning at birth. Families also receive the adult book, Reading Magic, by Mem Fox, Australian literacy expert, that extols read aloud with children as the foundation for future success in reading as well as a way to give the young child a strong emotional bond with his or her parent.

Objectives

• Increase book ownership by families.
• Educate parents about the importance of read aloud to babies.
• Encourage the establishment of read aloud traditions in homes.

The Books

Read to Your Bunny begins with the note that “Reading twenty minutes a day is the most important gift you can give your child.” The following text and playful illustrations will delight children, but the end pages of the book are again a message for parents about the value of reading to a young child. This is the perfect book for both new parents and new babies.

Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever, describes in a lighthearted way the specific ways that sharing books with children helps their cognitive and emotional development, as well as tips for how to read aloud for the most pleasure. In the front of the book is a place for an adult to record his or her name and then pass it on to a friend to read.