ACL…what it’s all about!

Friends of the Fallbrook Library, which runs the Bottom Shelf Bookstore next to the library, has introduced a new program that seems too good to be true, calling it Advancing Children’s Literacy. This new program is now providing 1 free book per day, to the children of our community, as well as those in Camp Pendelton, Rainbow and Bonsall. The goal is to develop an early love of books, a habit of reading, increased literacy skills and to provide an alternative to electronic devices. 

Friends of the Fallbrook Library identified the need for many of the children in our community to have easier access to books that they can own and cherish; rather than books they borrow from the library that must be returned. We developed this program thru the Bottom Shelf with the intention of creating a child-based and family centric experience.  Parents bring their children to the bookstore and the children can choose 1 free children’s book from the shelves.  Each book comes with a bookplate inside for the children to write their names on, developing a sense of pride and ownership. The intent is to not only introduce children to the love of books but to the help build family home libraries in the process.  

Research on this topic emphasizes that access to books in the home is strongly linked to academic success and the narrowing of the achievement gap. Research stresses the crucial role of parent’s in developing good home habits around reading and making reading with their children an important part of their home culture.