As the month of October moves quickly along, twelve young people ranging from third grade through eighth grade have William Allen White nominated books in their hands and are busily reading them to write reviews which will appear in this publication during Children's Book Week November 14 through 20. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase some of the books nominated for this award. This year, there are thirty total books, evenly divided between the third through fifth grade list and the sixth through eighth grade list.

Another dimension added to Children's Book Week this year is the Kansas: One Book, One State project which features the Kansas Reads...to Preschoolers initiative. According to Kansas State Librarian Christie Pearson Brandau, "Kansas Reads...to Preschoolers is a project of the Kansas State Library created to highlight the importance of reading to children, and also to highlight the library as a renewable resource of reading material. The goal is that every Kansas child between the ages of 0 and 5 (all 226,453 of them!!) will be read to during National Children's Book Week, November 14-20, 2005. Governor Sebilius is the honorary chair of the project and has selected the book No Matter What written and illustrated by Debi Gliori as the book to be read. This book is a beautiful children's story about Small, a little fox, who seeks assurance that Large will always provide love, no matter what."

To implement this portion of Children's Book Week, day care centers and preschools across Liberal have been contacted to schedule a special time with their little ones to share this story. Our regular preschool and lapsit storytime sessions will also take place during that week, using the Gliori story as their theme. On Tuesday evening, November 15, at 7:00 p.m., the library will host a special Small/Large Pajama Storytime for any child who has not yet entered school. "Smalls" are invited to come in their pajamas, accompanied by a "Large", for stories, fingerplays, and songs, as well as milk and cookies. Participants may put their names in a drawing that evening for a copy of No Matter What and a fox hand puppet to go with it. Reservations are necessary for this event and may be made by calling Carol at 626-0180, ext 4.

Participation in the Kansas Reads initiative is not just for librarians. It is also for all other adults in a child's life to become involved in encouraging children to read and to enjoy books.

Here are some great fast facts provided by the Kansas State Library:

• Begin reading to your child at birth. Ninety percent of a child's brain growth occurs between birth and four years of age.
  
• Reading aloud introduces the patterns of language and develops vocabulary.
  
• Reading to a child 20 minutes each day will enable him or her to hear one million words in a year and will expand his or her vocabulary by one thousand words.
  
• Research indicates a connection between the development of language competence and motor skills.
  
• Reading aloud helps a child develop a longer attention span and encourages the art of listening.
  
• Reading aloud together will develop a special bond between you and your child. Touch between parent and child is very important to the development of the brain and the child's emotions.
  
• Children who are read to become readers and are more likely to succeed in school.
  
• Reading aloud provides cognitive, emotional, and social development.
  
• Sharing stories introduces and keeps alive the cultural heritage of our own traditional tales and those of other cultures.
  
• Lewis Carroll, of the famed Alice in Wonderland, called stories "love gifts." Sharing a story is giving a gift. It is a shared experience that produces a relaxed, peaceful feeling.

If you need some guidance in selecting stories to begin reading to your little one, stop by the library and one of our staff members will be happy to assist you. Remember, as our State Librarian said, libraries are a renewable resource of reading material. So come on in and utilize Memorial Library's resources.