As part of a new statewide literacy campaign, California’s Superintendent of Schools has announced an effort to provide one-million books to students and their families. Tony Thurmond says they’re working closely with First 5 California. The Executive Director of First 5 in Nevada County, Melody Easton, says they’re not involved at this time. But she says making more books available for pre-K kids at home has always been one of their main goals…

click to listen to Melody Easton

Easton says that includes the Read Me A Story program through the Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation. The Foundation provides books at every Well Child Checkup….

click to listen to Melody Easton

That’ll be on the Friday before Halloween, October 29th. Easton says First 5 also stresses books for the steadily-increasing number of bi-lingual children, which help them understand and respect other cultures at an early age. The group says the first 5 years are the most rapid period of brain growth, with nearly 90-percent of brain development occurring by age 5.