Some facts* you should know about early literacy: 

• Reading is the foundation for all school learning.
• Vocabulary begins to develop at birth and continues to grow throughout a child’s life.
• By 12-18 months of age, most children begin to talk.
• Most two-year-olds have a vocabulary of 300-500 words.
• Children entering school have a vocabulary of several thousand words (more if they've been read to from an early age).
• Children entering kindergarten should have heard 1,000 stories to be successful in school.
• Children who are read to frequently do much better in later development than children who are not.

In addition, experts have shown that reading to a child helps his or her brain develop in a way that promotes reading and language skills. In effect, the brain becomes “wired” for reading by reading.

For more information on the issue of early literacy and parenting
Beginning with Books - Center for Early Literacy

Family Reading Partnership
National Center for Family Literacy
National Institute for Literacy
The Partnership for Reading
PA Family Literacy
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children

Reading is Fundmental
Reach Out and Read

Office of Child Development - University of Pittsburgh

For reading lists please visit

Click here for Beginning with Books Favorites

ALA / Caldecott Medal Winners

ALA / Newberry Medal Winners

Best Books for Babies - presented by Beginning with Books

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

The Horn Book

*According to the Early Literacy Initiative, a partnership between the Public Library Association and the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.