Growing Into Books is a guide for adults who want to stimulate children's literacy learning during the preschool years (children 3 to 5 years old). Parents, caregivers, parent group leaders, and literacy trainers will find the information useful. The information can be read on line, and it can also be printed as a booklet. The guide presents three kinds of information regarding literacy learning:

• lists of expected literacy-related accomplishments or goals for preschool children.
  
  
• suggestions for adult interactions that foster children's literacy learning.
  
  
• recommendations for choosing children's books that suit both the interests and development of preschoolers.

While this guide can be used by any interested individuals, we present some suggestions for those of you using it for particular purposes.

Use by Parents and Caregivers

The guide can help you think about your child's growing literacy skills--to notice which ones your child is already accomplishing, and which ones you can help her work on. The guide also suggests many learning activities that you and your child can do together. These activities will be enjoyable, but will also help your child learn language skills. At the end of the guide you will find several lists of children's books that are perfect for preschoolers. All of these books are likely to be available in your public library; and many of them are available for purchase in paperback.

You might want to print the guide, and use it as a journal of your child's literacy accomplishments. In the margins, write about your child's accomplishments, activities she enjoys, and her favorite books .

Use by Parent Group Leaders and Literacy Trainers

The guide can be used as a resource for information to share with the families or staff with whom you work. You might want to print copies of the guide for your trainees; and hold a workshop or series of workshops on the content in the guide. The four main areas of content included in the guide are:

• Language Development: How your child's language develops and how language development helps children learn to read.
  
  
• How to Read to Your Preschooler
  
  
• Playing With Stories
  
  
• Choosing Books for your Preschooler

Depending on the amount of time you have, and the amount of expertise your trainees already have, you might choose to—

• print copies of the guide as a resource to give your trainees, or
  
  
• provide a workshop about the content. We have prepared suggested outlines for workshops. They present the content of the guide in either-

One Long Session (1.5 hours)

Two Short Sessions (1 hour each)
     Workshop 1
     Workshop 2