New Reading Program Offered in Minot | Video

Amy Fox | 8/1/2012

You`re never too young to learn to read, or at least to have someone read to you. The Souris Valley United Way kicked off the Imagination Library reading program for the first time today.

Dolly Parton introduced the reading program in 1996 to help children in east Tennessee learn to read. Now, the program is recognized all of over the country, even right here in Minot.

At today`s event, parents could sign up their children for the reading program. The only requirement: the child must be under the age of five.

"Books are so important for kids, and the earlier you start, the better. I mean, you read to them, being read to does a lot for developing their reading skills as they get older and it`s just fun. I mean, it opens up new worlds for them and even just for imagination where they play and all kinds of good benefits from reading to them," said Krista Bratvold, mother of two.

As Souris Valley United Way Executive Director Pat Smith explains, reading programs, like the Imagination Library, are crucial in a child’s development.

"Ninety percent of our adult brain is developed by the time we`re age three. So, the more that we can help children how to read at an early age the better it is."

The cost of the program is $25 per year, but the Souris Valley United Way paid the registration fees for 330 Minot children today.

All of the children enrolled in the Imagination Library reading program will receive a new book each month in the mail.

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