Earliest Readers

Lifelong good readership begins with babies who have had joyful exposure to many books, who have had loving adults read to them regularly and often, and who have communicated the value they themselves place on the written word. But what about those children who have had none of these experiences? Ingrid Bon from the Netherlands, Chair of the Libraries Section of the International Federation of Library Associations, eminent American reading expert Richard Anderson from the University of Illinois, and Charles Pascal, Special Advisor to the Premier of Ontario on Full Day Learning, discuss cutting edge programs that are helping to give every child the chance to become a reader. Carol McDougall, founding director of the Nova Scotia program, Read to Me!, moderates.