Parents Are the Best Teachers to Get Their Children Ready to Read
- You are your child’s first and most important teacher.
- You know your child best.
- Children are most ready to learn when they are in a good mood. You know your child’s moods best.
- Children learn best by doing things, so take every chance you can to read with your children. Tell stories, talk about them, say nursery rhymes, and sing songs.
There are 5 simple things you can do with your child to help them succeed. Take a few minutes out of each day to Read, Write, Sing, Play, and Talk with your child. These easy acts make a big difference in a child’s life.
Check out our Simple Steps Literacy Kits and help your child experience the Simple Steps in new ways!
Pasos Sencillos: Esto es fácil de hacer, cada día, donde quiera que esté. No toma mucho tiempo. Son pasos simples para el éxito.
To see these five literacy steps in action, please attend one of our many storytimes.
The Simple Steps program is made possible through a generous grant from:
Simple Steps Reading Lists
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Amara's Farm
A young girl searches for pumpkins on her farm in this joyful celebration of cool-weather fruits and vegetables, from the new Where in the Garden? series.
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Hello The Sea
Say 'hello' to the sea creatures in this beautifully-designed baby book. The high-contrast images are designed for babies' eyesight.
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Breakfast
Join The Very Hungry Caterpillar for one of his favorite meals of the day: breakfast!
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Where Thuong Keeps Love
Inspired by the subtle yet unique differences in the notion of love between American and Vietnamese cultures, Where Thuong Keeps Love is a beautiful exploration of the nonverbal ways love is held and stored in every part of the body.
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May Your Life Be Deliciosa
A delicious and fortifying picture book inspired by the author’s family, featuring the Mexican tradition of holiday tamale-making
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¡Vamos!: Let's Go Eat
Little Lobo returns to share his love of food and wrestling in this delicious follow-up to Vamos! Let'sGo to the Market from Pura Belpré Medal-winning illustrator Raúl the Third.
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Where Wonder Grows
When Grandma walks to her special garden, her granddaughters know to follow her there. Grandma invites the girls to explore her collection of treasures--magical rocks, crystals, seashells, and meteorites--to see what wonders they reveal. "They are alive with wisdom," Grandma says. As her granddaughters look closely, the treasures spark the girls' imaginations. They find stories in the strength of rocks shaped by volcanoes, the cleansing power of beautiful crystals, the mystery of the sea that houses shells and shapes the environment, and the long journey meteorites took to find their way to Earth. This is the power of Grandma's special garden, where wonder grows and stories blossom.
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Mi Casa Is My Home
Lucia invites you to visit her bustling casa and meet an intergenerational array of loved ones in a charming Spanglish celebration of family life.
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My City Speaks
A young girl’s exploration of the city she loves. A young girl and her father spend a day in the city, her city, traveling to the places they go together. As they do, the girl, who is visually impaired, describes what she senses in delightfully precise, poetic detail. Her city, she says, “pitters and patters, and drips and drains.” It’s both “smelly” and “sweet.” Her city also speaks, as it “dings and dongs and rattles and roars.” And sometimes, maybe even some of the best times, it just listens. A celebration of all there is to appreciate in our surroundings — just by paying attention!
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Opposites Abstract
Is this dark? Is this light? Is this soft? Is this hard? Using colors, shapes, lines and textures, Willems invites readers to explore abstract concepts through eye-popping, emotive, and highly-accessible artwork.
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Who Said Woof?
Who said 'Woof'? Was it Bunny? No, it was Puppy! This interactive board book will make children laugh with funny pairings, before helping them learn which noise matches which animal. With sturdy flaps to lift, tactile fabrics and a surprise mirror ending!
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Flamingo Flamenco
A flamenco-dancing flamingo struts and swaggers, certain that he is the best dancer in the animal kingdom. From hip hopping hippos to tap dancing tigers, each animal finds its own jungle boogie, and Flamingo soon discovers that no two dancers are the same—and that's okay! A fantastic book for any child who loves dancing or animals, Flamingo Flamenco and its rhythmic text and boldly colored animals will get your little dancers wriggling and jiggling.
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On a Rainy Day
A sweet story of a father and daughter's cozy day together as they wait for a storm to pass.
When rain interrupts their outdoor play, a girl and her father retreat indoors to wait out the storm. As lightning cracks and thunder booms, they each have their own ideas of things they can do together on a rainy day.
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Find Fergus
Play the funniest game of hide and seek ever with Fergus, a bear who's very, very bad at hiding.
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On the Way Home
A little girl and her grandpa come across a monkey, an alligator, a zebra, a tiger and a hippo. They will swing, dance, tap and bounce together on their way back home.