Bluey, Bingo, and a Thousand Books: Paulding County Libraries Spark Early Literacy Adventure
The public libraries in Paulding County are busy supporting children’s early language and literacy development – and they are having fun doing it! In March of 2025, they hosted a party at the parks and recreation department’s new senior center to recognize and celebrate the children who had just graduated from the libraries’ 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program. Bluey and Bingo, characters from the animated children’s show, joined in the fun while library staff wore Bluey ears as they signed up 60 new families for the program which is designed to encourage parents and caregivers to make reading with their young children a daily practice.
“We have offered the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program for several years, but we struggled to reach and engage families who weren’t already coming to the library regularly,” explains Amy Mollenkamp, the library manager at Hiram Public Library. “Hosting big events like this where we can offer food and a fun time helps us connect with families that might not know all that our local libraries have to offer or all of the benefits of reading to children when they are very young.”
The community received a Literacy for Learning, Living, and Leading (L4GA) grant in 2019 which has enabled the libraries to expand the program significantly and reach more children and families. The graduation celebration also provided an opportunity for those families to learn more about many of the other services and supports available in the community. Leaders from local nonprofits, the public health department, sheriff’s office, and the school district staffed tables to share information and prizes with children and families. The local fire department also sent a fire truck so that children could climb on board and talk with firefighters while the West Georgia Regional Library System sent its Bookmobile, enabling the more than 400 people attending the event to check out books and get started reading right away.
The libraries worked with their Paulding County Family Connection to engage the local partners for the event and to position the libraries as a resource for connecting with those and other resources. Family Connection has compiled a binder of information about various programs and services that community partners offer that is available at each of the libraries.
The idea behind 1000 Books Before Kindergarten is simple, but the rewards are priceless. Reading with young children, beginning in infancy, supports early brain development and boosts children’s language and literacy skills, preparing them for success in school and life. As a part of the program, parents are encouraged to make reading with children – including picture books that they can describe and discuss – a part of their daily routine. When families sign up for the program, they can start tracking their reading, either using the free digital app Beanstack or on a paper form. As they read more books – including reading children’s favorite books over and over and over again! – they can come into the library for prizes when they hit milestones along the way to 1,000 books.
“Paulding County is a fast-growing community,” notes Mollenkamp. “As metro Atlanta grows and expands, we have a lot of people coming into our area and they might not have come into their local libraries yet and know all that we have to offer. These kinds of big public events are an introduction to our local libraries and what we offer and a reminder of the importance of reading with your young kiddos.”
To learn more about the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program or to find a program near you, visit here.