Learning to read before you walk: Portuguese libraries for babies and toddlers

1. Learning to read before you walk: Portuguese libraries for babies and toddlers Ana Margarida Ramos University of Aveiro - Portugal anamargarida@ua.pt

2. Abstract The aim of this paper is to present and analyse some examples of public libraries which have been especially designed for babies and toddlers, termed bebetecas in Portuguese, highlighting the role the promotion of reading from a very young age plays in the reader’s development. Some projects implemented in these areas, particularly those which target the family as an audience, but which in some cases are also intended for day care centres and nurseries, create an increased awareness of the role of the library in the dissemination of children's books, as well as creating dynamic reading habits at an early age. This strengthens family ties and promotes healthier and more balanced child development. Taking family and school as two important contexts for the development of the readers, the library becomes a privileged space (and vehicle!) to promote good reading practices from a very young age, and where books can act as the backdrop for interaction between young children, their families and care givers.

3. Introduction • Practices to promote reading in pre-readers – including very young readers from birth up to the age of 6 – are now established in a number of countries and incorporate official politics and programmes. • These measures stem from the widespread consensus about the individual and social relevance of reading and the possibilities it provides individuals with, as well as awakening public and political awareness to early promotion of reading practices.

4. Reading The development of reading occurs mainly in two contexts, family and school, which are crucial in the construction of the readers’ first perceptions of reading. These perceptions are largely determined by their first book experiences, in that the positive ones stimulate reading whereas the negative experiences have a tendency to put up barriers between the readers and books.

5. Reading Reading is the result of a highly motivating learning process and consists of steady progress which demands, among other things, effort and attention. This is the case in the development of oral discourse, and includes not only a wide range of rich vocabulary and the knowledge of complex structures, but also the prior construction of concrete representations about the usefulness of reading. In this way, early contact with diverse written material, even if not exclusively literary material, plays a crucial role in making literature more appealing to the child, and providing them with meaningful experiences about the use of literature in a wide range of contexts.

6. Reading Promotion Contexts

7. Family support Parents should act as role models and the presence of books and reading habits should be natural within the household and associated to the family gathering around books to create moments of pleasure and affection. Generating daily routines which revolve around books and reading from birth can be complemented with the support of the librarian, the educator or from autonomous learning, particularly when it comes to choosing the most appropriate books or obtaining information about how best to exploit the materials available.

8. Library • Public libraries have always played a crucial role in the development of reading and have as their mission the establishment of specific areas and contexts for various target audiences, thus creating a connection between families and books. • In the case of very young children, including babies and toddlers, this becomes even with more apparent with the development of BEBETECAS, specialised sections in libraries whose aim is to create an increased awareness of the importance of early promotion reading habits in families, in particular parents.

9. BebetecaLibrary Services to Babies and Toddlers • The choice of alternative bookshelves • The painting of the walls and the use of throw cushions and other objects which create comfort are strategies • The use of specific and/or adapted furniture • The use of educational toys, games (such as puzzles, building blocks and other construction games), puppet stages, string puppets or musical instruments.

10. Bebeteca activities • Specific storytelling time (for babies and toddlers) • Ludic activities in which contact with books is involved (leafing through books, naming objects in them, playing with words through the listening and repetition of rhymes, chants, tongue twisters and hand clapping games) • Workshops for parents • Ongoing clubs and projects • The libraries “publish” and distribute short homemade publications which include reading suggestions, advice and tips on how to promote reading and books in the family and at home and short thematic catalogues

11. Some few good examples…

12. Beja Activities • Rodas de Colo [Lullaby Circles] • Patáti Patáta [One for me one for you] • Histórias de colo e embalo [Lullaby Storytime]

13. Odivelas

14. Chamusca

15. Chamusca

16. Leiria

17. Ílhavo

18. Ílhavo

19. Arouca

20. Ponte de Lima

21. Miranda do Corvo

22. Miranda do Corvo

23. Portalegre

24. In general… As a general rule, the libraries have created sections for babies and toddlers which are not limited to general use by the library goers but have also organised activities, thus creating routines and habits in both children and parents. These activities vary in terms of frequency, but are generally monthly gatherings which share the desire to promote regular contact with books, associating that contact with well-being and pleasure and demystifying many preconceived ideas about the relationship between the child on one hand and books and reading on the other.

25. Bebeteca Catalogue In terms of the creation of adequate catalogues for this group of readers, both in terms of the toy book and of the literary work, in Portugal there is a clear imbalance of publications since there are many translations, some of them by classic writers, as opposed to the lack of original Portuguese publications for pre-readers.

26. Portuguese Authors • André Letria [illustrator] • Manuela Bacelar [illustrator] • Isabel Minhós Martins [writer] • Bernardo Carvalho [illustrator] • Madalena Matoso [illustrator]

27. Foreign Authors • Classic authors • Maurice Sendak • Leo Lionni • Eric Carle • Bruno Munari • Iela Mari • Tomi Ungerer • ... • Contemporary authors • David McKee • Jutta Bauer • Anthony Browne • Lucy Cousins • Oliver Jeffers • ...

28. Conclusions The projects presented here, as with other similar ones, provide a number of positive outcomes, particularly in relation to the way they involve the families in the process of training readers from an early age. The more or less implicit awareness that early reading practices are fundamental for the formal development of reading itself results from the work carried out by librarians, who provide parents with ongoing training.

29. Conclusions They are projects which are relatively simple to implement and economically feasible in the current economic climate, since they require comparatively low investment in terms of materials, reduced space and a fairly limited need for books.

30. Conclusions In the case in Bebetecas, they are places (and moments) where reading takes place and positive experiences are shared among the children and their families, with the library becoming a meeting place and a constant source of interest. The favouring of a sensory experience with books and reading through storytelling and song, looking at books and images, body movement, the handling of books and objects, particularly if the surroundings are simultaneously ludic and pleasurable is essential when the objective is to promote reading with very young age groups.

31. Conclusions Bebetecas are increasingly versatile, also open to disabled children, or those with special educational needs, to ethnic groups or those who are culturally marginalised and to immigrants, and are often the door through which the children and their parents enter the world of reading, and family literacy and socialisation is promoted.

32. Documents for the parents • http://omb.no.sapo.pt/documentos/guia-texto.pdf • http://195.23.38.178/casadaleitura/portalbeta/bo/documentos/tem_ler_para_crescer_a.pdf

33. Thank you!