Early Literacy

The Library has a wealth of resources to support your child’s literacy growth and development from birth through the early school years.

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Programs & Activities

Early Literacy Classes

Our Early Literacy class is a great way to instill a love of reading and learning in your young child. Join a certified teacher in learning important sight words and begin your journey in discovering books! This is a six week class that builds on previous weeks. Six-week sessions are held in the winter, spring, and fall.

Storytimes

Storytimes are more than just books! Each storytime works on early literacy skills such as phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, print conventions and awareness, vocabulary, and background knowledge. Using shaky eggs, scarves, singing, movement, books, and felt stories, storytime is structured to show parents and caregivers ways they can help their child interact with books and develop early literacy skills.

Young child reading letters

September 2021

Tuesday September 28

7:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Pajama Storytime
Mahwah Public Library at Story Tower

All agesJoin Miss Kate and Miss Rola for pajama storytime! Wind down with songs and stories and take home a craft. Registration is required.

Wednesday September 29

10:40 am – 11:10 am
Baby Storytime
Mahwah Public Library at Large Meeting Room

Stories, music, and early literacy for children birth – 23 months. Through story time interactions your baby will develop language and social skills! Registration is required. If you would like to attend the class after registration has closed, please call 201.529.7323 ext 230 

11:25 am – 11:55 am
Toddler Storytime
Mahwah Public Library at Large Meeting Room

Stories, music, and early literacy for children 2 year – pre-k. Through story time interactions your baby will develop language and social skills!  Registration is required. If you would like to attend the class after registration has closed, please call 201.529.7323 ext 230

Thursday September 30

10:30 am – 11:30 am
Preschool Storytime
Mahwah Public Library at Large Meeting Room

Preschool story time is a great time to enjoy stories, meet new friends, sing songs, play games, and have fun. This event is for children ages 3-5 and includes a new craft every week! If you would like to attend the class after registration has closed, please call 201.529.7323 ext 230

October 2021

Tuesday October 5

7:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Pajama Storytime
Mahwah Public Library at Story Tower

All agesJoin Miss Kate and Miss Rola for pajama storytime! Wind down with songs and stories and take home a craft. Registration is required.

Wednesday October 6

10:40 am – 11:10 am
Baby Storytime
Mahwah Public Library at Large Meeting Room

Stories, music, and early literacy for children birth – 23 months. Through story time interactions your baby will develop language and social skills! Registration is required. If you would like to attend the class after registration has closed, please call 201.529.7323 ext 230 

11:25 am – 11:55 am
Toddler Storytime
Mahwah Public Library at Large Meeting Room

Stories, music, and early literacy for children 2 year – pre-k. Through story time interactions your baby will develop language and social skills!  Registration is required. If you would like to attend the class after registration has closed, please call 201.529.7323 ext 230

Thursday October 7

10:30 am – 11:30 am
Preschool Storytime
Mahwah Public Library at Large Meeting Room

Preschool story time is a great time to enjoy stories, meet new friends, sing songs, play games, and have fun. This event is for children ages 3-5 and includes a new craft every week! If you would like to attend the class after registration has closed, please call 201.529.7323 ext 230

Tuesday October 12

7:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Pajama Storytime
Mahwah Public Library at Story Tower

All agesJoin Miss Kate and Miss Rola for pajama storytime! Wind down with songs and stories and take home a craft. Registration is required.

Wednesday October 13

10:40 am – 11:10 am
Baby Storytime
Mahwah Public Library at Large Meeting Room

Stories, music, and early literacy for children birth – 23 months. Through story time interactions your baby will develop language and social skills! Registration is required. If you would like to attend the class after registration has closed, please call 201.529.7323 ext 230 

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Books & Reading

The library has an incredible collection of items selected to support reading at every level. The collections highlighted below were chosen specifically to develop and enhance early literacy skills.

New for Kids featured image

Wonderbooks

Every Wonderbook is a print book with a ready-to-play audiobook inside. Kids will press play to read along with their favorite books and then switch to learning mode for literacy learning and fun. After reading along, kids can switch Wonderbook into Learning Mode to keep talking about the book they just read. Learning mode is a powerful way to teach parents how to dialogue with their children about books, and includes a fun, narrator-led question and answer session; and open-ended, educator-vetted questions about the story they just read.

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Bob Books

These books introduce your child to the alphabet, sounds, word families, and much more with simple phrases like “Sam sat” or “The cat ran zig zag” that make use of repetition. In fact, these books are often the very first ones children can finish on their own! A go-to for kids in preschool to second grade, each book in the series features a fun, simple story, as well as bright illustrations to turn your child into an avid reader. There is a book set for any level your early reader is at, and for extra practice, you can pick out BOB Books that focus on certain topics like long vowels, sight words, or rhyming words

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Bob Books

The Reading House

READY, SET, READ! Take the first step towards confident reading skills with The Reading House. The Reading House uses a clear, step-by-step method to guide children from letter recognition to ​phonemic awareness all the way up to independent reading. With lively, accessible text and an engaging cast of animal friends, this bright series proves that learning to read can be fun. And the included instruction guide means any parent or teacher can ensure success wherever they are!

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Hooked On Phonics: Learn to Read Kits

Hooked on Phonics® Learn to Read is based on research and approved by the Children’s Reading Foundation. Designed in conjunction with leading educators, award-winning authors, teachers and parents, Hooked on Phonics® Learn to Read uses a proven, simple, and fun method to give your child a strong foundation in phonics and reading skills.

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Hooked on Phonics

Devices & Tablets

Preloaded tablets from the Library help children grow and learn in a way that’s exciting and engaging.

Young girl reading on a device

Launchpad Reading Academy

This 5-level guided reading system helps kids master verbal, reading, and writing skills – starting at any level. Every app, storybook, and video has been hand-selected to help kids gain the knowledge they need to transition from learning-to-read to reading-to-learn. By bringing together a combination of sight, sound, and interactive play, Launchpad Academy gives kids the tools to learn the way they learn best.

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Launchpad Home Screen

Launchpad Kids Collections

It’s easy to discover, build and maintain a digital content collection with Launchpad. Purpose-driven Launchpad collections are unified by a specific theme, goal or interest and expertly curated to advance your organization’s goals and mission. Pre-loaded with content for kids and designed with a simple, easy-to-use interface, and 100% secure, Launchpad tablets are made to be passed from one set of hands to the next. No download time. No need for Wi-Fi. Access to powerful content is simple as turning on each device — anytime, anywhere.

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Launchpad device controls

More Devices and Kits to Borrow

Selected Resources

Talking Is Teaching

When babies feel connected and nurtured by those who take care of them, they are confident and curious about the world around them, which allows them to explore and learn more readily. But it may not always be easy to talk with babies, especially when they can’t talk back. To help, Talking is Teaching offers fun tips and resources grounded in the best science, to help you talk, read, sing and play with your child every day.

Visit Talking is Teaching

Brightly by Penguin Random House

Brightly believes that reading has the power to illuminate kids’ lives and connect families by facilitating a space in which children and the adults in their lives can spend quality time together. It can be hard to find the right book to keep children engaged as they grow, so Brightly provides passionate parents, educators, and caregivers with the tools they need — such as tips and advice, book recommendations, Brightly Storytime, which features read-aloud and flip along videos, and more — to keep kids connected to books through every age & stage of life. 

Brightly Reading
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