Reading never goes out of style. The earlier you start reading, the sooner you get better at it. And the more likely you will become a lifelong lover of reading. The Children’s Trust knows this, and ample scientific evidence supports the notion that reading to a young child and having them follow along with a parent or caregiver is one of the best ways to facilitate early learning and development. Children who are read to from a young age are better equipped to start school and tend to perform better throughout their schooling years.

That’s why The Children’s Trust decided to expand its Read to Learn Book Club in 2019 to include all Miami-Dade children from birth to 5 years old. Originally started in 2011, the program has since grown significantly and celebrated the fourth anniversary of its expanded version this year.

Membership has its privileges Parents may register children from birth until they are 4-and-a-half years old. Members can choose whether they want books in English or Spanish, and each book comes with a reading guide that provides parents and caregivers with ideas on how to best read with their children, including ways to connect with them and link the book's themes to the outside world. 

The books also come with activity sheets that offer fun exercises to reinforce the book's message and vocabulary. The book selection includes classics, award-winners, and picture books designed to engage even the youngest "readers." All books are specifically chosen to help children develop their early reading skills for school readiness and, of course, for maximum enjoyment with their families. For Haitian families, The Children’s Trust launched a Haitian Creole Book Club Engagement Project, which provides families at Haitian American-focused events with five children’s books in Haitian Creole, family reading guides and other helpful materials.

Most members ever Since the expanded Book Club launched, more than 90,000 new members have signed up. Current membership has been steadily increasing and last year it reached an all-time high of over 47,000 members - so much that new registrations had to be paused to deal with the demand. More investment from The Children’s Trust helped enrollment climb back over 46,000 kids in June and The Trust wants that number to grow even more, until all eligible children are part of the club. 

New Book Club Characters Current and past book club members have come to look forward to the monthly mailings arriving in colorful packages adorned with the Book Club’s animated characters - Ellie the Elephant, Giralda the Giraffe, Harry the Spider and Jabari the Octopus. For the new push in enrollment, The Trust was proud to create four more lively Book Club characters. Two of them, Frank the Frog and Pierre the Parrot, have already been revealed, with the other two set to be introduced later this summer during The Children’s Trust Family Expo events.

How to Sign Up The expanded Children’s Trust Book is celebrating its fourth birthday and the best way to celebrate is for parents and caregivers whose kids are already members to encourage others to sign up their young children as well. They can visit TheChildrensTrust.org/BookClub or text “READ” to 786.460.CLUB (2582).