California School Challenges NY Times

In a recent blog post (Parents Call to Action :: 4 Steps to Toddler Literacy, Nov. 15, 2010), I mentioned a New York Times article (“Picture Books No Longer A Staple for Children”) that  reported, “parents have begun pressing their kindergartners and first-graders to leave the picture book behind and move on to more text-heavy chapter books.”

I am happy to share with you a heart-warming story about Birch Lane Elementary School in Davis, California. The librarian, students, staff, and parents decided to prove the New York Times wrong. In a letter to the editor, the school stated, “We believe that picture books are essential to the development of lifelong readers and learners.” The school dedicated the month of February for the promotion of picture books for every book and every reader, reading a total of 4,590 books!

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/opinion/l14scroll.html

See the 15-foot scroll Birch Lane Elementary sent to the Times: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/04/14/opinion/20110414-letters-scroll.html