Ukuleles and jingle bells are spicing up reading for young children in DeKalb.
The DeKalb Public Library sends out an eager reader to satellite locations, like University Village, for the Little Learners outreach program.
Marti Brown, with youth services at the library, brings a suitcase of books, puppets, and instruments to get newborn children through age five interested in reading.
She says taking the interactive stories to different places can open the door for new people.
“I was hoping to also reach people who may not have the transportation to come to the library," she says. "Or just may not know how much the libraries in general have to offer them.”
Brown adds that the environment can promote early literacy skills.
“Well, certainly vocabulary and concepts to be able to imagine, to be able to picture what they are listening to. I think that is very important as well," she says. "Then, just that bridge between being read to and eventually discovering that they can read themselves.”
The events take place every first and third Tuesday at University Village; the second and fourth Tuesdays are at Conexión Comunidad.
