Rosie Bentley pictured at the Reinbeck Public Library with her personalized book “Rosie the Princess” after completing the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge. PHOTO BY MICHELLE SIEH

REINBECK – Another sweet friend has achieved the Reinbeck Public Library’s 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten!

Rosie Bentley, 3, began the challenge ONLY last January! She sped through the rainbow clouds and last week, achieved her goal of reading 1,000 books in just eight months.

Rosie loves visiting the library with her mom and dad, and especially playing with “Dolly,” her favorite puppet in the library’s collection. She begs her parents to read books whenever they can squeeze in a few pages. Some of her favorite titles include “The Tawny Scrawny Lion,” “Gulliver Mickey,” and “Llama Llama” (to help her wake up in the morning).

Rosie will be going to preschool three days a week this year, and is excited to get back to school with her friends. After finishing the 1000 Books challenge, she shared with Director Michelle Sieh, “The library is the best!”

We’re so glad you love spending time at your local library, Rosie, and we can’t wait for you to go on even more adventures reading all the books you can!

PHOTO BY MICHELLE SIEH

Background

The concept is simple, the rewards are priceless…and you get prizes! Win-win! Read a book (any book) to your infant, and/or toddler (any age 0-5). The goal is to read 1,000 books (yes, you can repeat books) before your little one starts kindergarten. If you read just one book a night you will have read 365 books in a year. That is 730 books in two years and 1,095 books in three years. If you consider that most children start kindergarten at age five then you have two years to spare! Not only is this achievable, but you have the Reinbeck Public Library cheering you on and helping you along the way!

Here’s how it works:

-Check out stacks of library books. They are free! A librarian would even love to help you pick out the perfect books for any age, stage and interest.

-Story Times are every Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the library. Every book counts!

-You will want to stop in at every 100 books so we can celebrate this awesome achievement and get you excited for the next 100!

For more information on the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge, stop by the Reinbeck Public Library at 501 Clark Street during library hours, or visit https://www.reinbeck.lib.ia.us/services/reading-challenges.