The last week in January has been named New West Reads! Week by the city's Literacy Now committee. Organizations are celebrating the importance of family literacy with storytimes and parent information sessions.
At the New Westminster Public Library, on Tuesday, Jan. 31, there will be storytelling, games, displays, giveaways and snacks between 4 and 6 p.m. The regular weekly Family Storytime at 7 p.m. will focus on families and reading, too.
In New Westminster, children are fortunate to have ready access to books. All elementary schools in the city have welcoming libraries available to their students. The Literacy Now committee has expanded its Family Bookshare locations to four: the Hospitality Project at Shiloh-Sixth Avenue United Church, Olivet Baptist Church, the Elizabeth Fry Society and the Centennial Community Centre. The New Westminster Public Library at 716 Sixth Ave. is open seven days a week and offers much for families with children from infancy to high school age.
The public library can help you make the most of your time reading together.
Jim Trelease has been recommending books to families for over 30 years.
A 1979 pamphlet became his Read-aloud Handbook, now in its sixth edition. Pam Allyn has written What to Read When: The Books and Stories to Read With Your Child and the Best Times to Read Them. Ask us for a copy of our new printed list of recommended read-alouds. For suggestions from the Internet, start at our website (www.nwpl.ca) click on Kids, then Resources, then Reading is Fun.
If you are interested in improving reading skills, look for Reading Strategies: A Parent's Guide, by Susan Reed, and the Ministry of Education DVD Reading for Families: Helping your Child with Reading at Home.
The website www. readingrockets.org has reading activities, lessons, worksheets and parent tips. Check out the handbooks and workbooks on the reading and math shelves in the Children's Department, too.
It's always a time to celebrate literacy!
