“Reading to children, even before they can understand words, teaches them to associate books with love and affection” (Unknown). At Just Right Reader, we strive to accelerate achievement and create joyful reading opportunities for families. We believe our mission begins at birth, so we proudly offer Board Books for infants and toddlers. Our Board Books are grounded in the science of brain development, creating meaningful early childhood experiences, and developing school readiness.
Why the First Five Years Shape Literacy
90% of brain development occurs between birth and age 5 (National Research Council, 2000; Nelson, 2000). In the first year of life, the neural connections for language, vision, and hearing reach peak development, with neural connections for cognitive functioning peaking early in the second year of life (Nelson, 2000). Brain plasticity, the ability of the brain to grow and form new connections, is at its prime, making early childhood experiences highly influential as children develop language and literacy.
Board Books and the Home Literacy Environment
Just Right Reader Board Books were designed to enrich early exposure to books and print as part of the home literacy environment (HLE). A stimulating, nurturing HLE supports language and literacy development in the preschool years (e.g., Hutton et al., 2019; Sénéchal & Lefevre, 2002) and is moderately correlated to reading comprehension outcomes (Dong et al., 2020).
What the Research Says About Shared Reading
One way to enrich the HLE is through shared reading, the practice of interacting with books through reading and discussion. Shared reading has a substantial body of evidence demonstrating its effect on literacy acquisition. Children engaged in shared reading receive an immediate cognitive boost in brain activation (Hutton et al., 2017a). High-quality shared reading experiences positively correlate to increased brain activity (Hutton et al., 2017b). Just Right Reader encourages parents to engage in high-quality shared reading practices by including a QR code linked to tips and videos to help families engage in shared reading with each fun and engaging Board Book.
Choosing Board Books by Age
Just Right Reader Board Books support a variety of developmental skills with age-appropriate fiction and nonfiction texts. From birth to 12 months, babies are exposed to shapes, sign language, naming, songs, and more. Board Books become slightly longer for 12-24-month-old toddlers and include titles encouraging independence, teaching colors, and promoting rhyming. Our longest Board Books are for 2-3-year-olds. At this age, Board Books have a more complex story structure, expose children to alphabet learning, continue to develop rhyming skills, and more.
Support prime brain development in babies and toddlers with colorful, engaging Board Books designed to promote language and literacy skills. Just Right Reader - doing whatever it takes to accelerate student achievement and create joyful reading opportunities for students, families, and teachers.
References
- Dong, Y., Xiao-Ying Wu, S., Dong, W. Y., & Tang, Y. (2020). The effects of home literacy environment on children’s reading comprehension development: A meta-analysis. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 20(2), 63-82. https://doi.org/10.12738/jestp.2020.2.005
- Hutton, J. S., Dudley, J., Horowitz-Kraus, T., DeWitt, T., & Holland, S. K. (2019). Associations between home literacy environment, brain white matter integrity and cognitive abilities in preschool-age children. Acta Paediatrica, 109(7), 1376-1386. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.15124
- Hutton, J. S., Phelan, K., Horowitz-Kraus, T., Dudley, J., Altaye, M., DeWitt, T., & Holland, S. K. (2017b). Shared reading quality and brain activation during story listening in preschool-age children. The Journal of Pediatrics, 191, 204-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.08.037
- Hutton, J. S., Phelan, K., Horowitz-Kraus, T., Dudley, J., Altaye, M., DeWitt, T., & Holland, S. K. (2017a). Story time turbocharger? Child engagement during shared reading and cerebellar activation and connectivity in preschool-age children listening to stories. PLoS One, 12(5), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177398
- National Research Council. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. National Academy Press.
- Nelson, C. A. (2000). Neural plasticity and human development: The role of early experience sculpting memory. Developmental Science, 3(2), 115-130. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7689.00104
- Sénéchal, M., & Lefevre, A. (2002). Parental involvement in the development of children’s reading skill: A five-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 73(2), 445-460. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00417
