In celebration of National Reading Month, Sesame Workshop, the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street, released new resources to help foster children’s love of reading and their connection with the parents and caregivers who read to, and with, them. These resources are made possible with generous support from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation (DGLF) which works to enhance literacy and education across the country.
Sparking children’s joy for reading from a young age lays the foundation for success in school. When parents and children read together and discuss those stories, it is proven to enhance those moments of engagement, which builds the child’s enthusiasm and develops their lifelong literacy skills. This helps not only boost their vocabulary, oral language, and comprehension, but also their ability to identify words, letter-sound recognition, and print awareness.
These free resources, available in English and Spanish, are designed to support parents and caregivers as they introduce children to exciting new worlds within the pages of a story. Sesame Workshop aims to deepen the relationship between children, language, literacy and the adults who read to them. With the help of trusted Sesame Street characters, children can prepare for success in school and life with books, videos, and more that celebrate both reading and those important, meaningful relationships in their lives.
These new bilingual resources, featuring Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Tamir, Wes, Rudy, and their parents, help nurture and encourage children’s love of reading:
“One More Time” features Wes and his father, Elijah, finding new, fun ways to read his favorite book.
In “Buzzing About Books,” Elena uses different strategies to keep Elmo, Wes, and Abby interested and excited about the story they are reading.
“A Star Reader” features Tamir who is working on sounding out a challenging word with encouragement from his mother, Kayla.
“Grow, Grow, Grow!” is an interactive digital storybook that comes in three reading levels from beginner to advanced, where Elmo and his father, Louie, discover what it takes for a plant to bloom.
Other resources include printable activity books (My Favorite Part, Read With Me, The Perfect Book) and articles with tips for parents and caregivers on how to share the love of reading with children at different ages during their most formative years, from birth through five years old.
“Developing a love of reading is critical to becoming a confident reader and such an important part of a child’s development from a young age. Parents and caregivers play an integral role in setting the stage for children to find joy and adventure through the magic of books and storytelling,” said Jeanette Betancourt, Ed.D., Senior Vice President of U.S. Social Impact, Sesame Workshop. “By making reading fun and interactive, parents and caregivers can help children not only make connections to the words on the page, but also with themselves and the world around them.”
The new resources can be found at sesame.org/reading, and social videos from our Fall release are available on the Sesame Workshop YouTube channel. Additionally, they are being distributed through the Sesame Street in Communities program, an initiative for community providers who serve families and help children face challenges big and small. Teachers, healthcare professionals, social workers, and any providers working with families and children are invited to use and share Sesame Workshop’s large and growing library of bilingual resources and professional development tools, created to support them in their vital work.
“It is an honor to support increased access to literacy resources that foster critical and creative thinking for young students,“ said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. “We are thrilled to support Sesame Workshop in encouraging and inspiring bright futures through literacy and education for the next generation of difference makers. We look forward to seeing students across the country motivated and equipped to pursue their dreams and goals through these efforts.”