Books from Birth

Igniting Literacy for Every Newborn

Books from Birth partners with hospitals and health systems to send newborns home with a starter home library of 10 brand new board books.

What is Books from Birth?

Book Harvest's Books from Birth partners with hospitals and health systems to send every newborn home with a starter home library of 10 brand new board books.

This home library will foster early language and reading routines at home from a baby's very first days, laying the foundation for optimal brain development in the first five years -- the precondition for a healthy childhood, school readiness, and a lifetime of flourishing.

Books from Birth launched in March 2023.

Why Books from Birth Matters

• Literacy promotion and support from a family's medical team increase active engagement in literacy activities at home including reading aloud several times every week, enjoying reading, and reporting that reading together is a favorite shared family activity. [1]

• Books in the home are the single biggest predictor of a child’s reading proficiency and long term success in school. [2]

• The American Academy of Pediatrics asserts that literacy begins at birth in the home, with parents. [3] [4]

Watch: Books from Birth Parent Videos

Que con los libros le ayudo a mis hijos a fomentar mas la lectura y aprenden a hablar con mas claridad... lo mas importante es que desde pequeños les enseño a tener mas interes en leer libros. That with books I help my children to promote reading more and they learn to speak more clearly...the most important thing is that from a young age I teach them to be more interested in reading books.

Book Babies Parent

Joining the Books from Birth Network

Healthcare practices who join Book Harvest's Books from Birth network commit to:

participating in the pilot program for a minimum of 12 months;
providing all families with newborns in the practice with a Books from Birth box containing 10 brand new curated books and early literacy resources;
coordinating the attendance of all clinic staff at two lunch & learn sessions with Book Harvest staff;
assigning a clinical liaison at the practice who conducts monthly check-ins with Book Harvest's Books from Birth Specialist;
and providing monthly report of data.

Interested in learning more about Books from Birth? Contact Wilmarie Cintron-Tyson, Books from Birth Implementation Specialist, at wilmarie@bookharvest.org.