1,000 Books Before Kindergarten gave families a big goal, but 1,000 books can also feel daunting. We saw an opportunity to create something much easier to start, stick with, and come back to when life gets busy.

We wanted to help families build small early literacy habits beyond reading. By rewarding talking, singing, writing, and playing, families can choose activities that fit their lives and involve other caregivers and siblings, even if they aren't able to read to the child.

There are no deadlines and no falling behind. If a family stops tracking for two weeks, they can simply pick it back up.

We also needed the program to work outside our buildings. Early Birds is an all-in-one tracker and information sheet with supplemental stickers, making it easy to distribute through outreach with no registration or additional materials required.

Families receive an interactive sticker chart featuring Paige, our Early Birds mascot. Instead of counting books, children add stickers when they complete simple literacy activities with their families. The goal isn't to cover a large number of activities; it's to help families recognize that early literacy is likely already happening and to introduce other small practices they can work into their routines to build habits.

We approached Early Birds as a consumer product designed to address a problem for our intended audience. Which were parents of young kids ages 0-5. There are no penalties for stopping and starting, and families can participate in whatever way works for them.

We even turned the launch into an experience. Paige's identity was kept secret, including from our librarians, while animated “egg cams” appeared on our website and in branch screens for several weeks teasing what might hatch. The reveal gave the program a fun, recognizable identity families could connect with.

Early Birds has significantly increased participation in our primary early literacy initiative. From March–July 2025, 383 children registered for 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. During the same period in 2026, we distributed 1,129 Early Birds trackers to families, nearly three times the participation of the previous program.

Since launching in March, the Early Birds webpage has received 653 views. Paige's launch also generated excitement beyond the tracker itself. Staff reported children talking about Paige at storytimes, families following the egg cam together, and patrons coming into the library excited to see what would hatch.

We will continue tracking distribution and digital engagement while gathering feedback from families and staff on how they use Early Birds and whether it helps them incorporate early literacy practices into their routines.

The response has been so positive that we are exploring making the Early Birds design available as a customizable Canva template, allo

Supporting Materials:

• WSBT 22 News Article: "Daniel cracks eggs with a hot reading comprehension quiz"