Junior League of Saint Paul Selects New Book to Distribute to Pre- Kindergarteners as Part of Early Childhood Screening

Contributed by Ginger C. Director of Community

Early Childhood Screening (ECS) is a Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) program that helps to identify health and developmental needs of young children before they enter Kindergarten. The screening includes vision, hearing, height, weight, development, speech, social/emotional, and review of health and immunization information. The screening is required by law for entrance into Kindergarten in Minnesota Public Schools.

Saint Paul Public Schools provides the screening without charge to children ages 3, 4, and 5 years old. It is important to have children screened at an early age so there is adequate time to obtain help for any identified concerns before the child enters school.

Since the beginning of JLSP's Building Bonds through Reading and Play initiative, JLSP has delivered over 3,000 books to SPPS to be distributed to children as they attend the Early Childhood Screening. The nurse of the program stated that for many kids the JLSP book is the first and potentially only book that they will own. The Eensy Weensy Spider book was the first book to be distributed and was very well received by the children.

When the supply of Eensy Weensy Spider books was completely distributed, the Community Projects committee was tasked with finding an alternative to offer. The criteria that they had to meet made the selection process very challenging. They searched for a book that was sensitive to race, gender and religion. It also had to be at the correct level for reading as well as understanding. It had to be cost effective and a quality book that a child will be proud to own. The committee set out to find local publishers who sent them numerous book options that were then reviewed thoroughly. In May, 650 copies of the selected book were ordered and distribution will begin in the next few weeks!

The Community Projects Committee is Pleased to Announce the New Book Selection:



It is Penguin Dreams by J. Otto Seibold! Penguin Dreams gives young children a delightful look into the imaginative dreams of Chongo Chingi, the sleeping penguin. After he drifts off to sleep, he finds himself soaring above his home in the zoo, flying with geese and airplanes, and finally drifting past funny looking planets and stars in outer space. From the fun rhyming text to the colorful and vivid illustrations, the book provides children with an entertaining and enriching story that they will want to talk about after the book is finished. Children will constantly find new characters and pictures in the book to point out to parents, and enjoy seeing a penguin dream about things he can not do during his waking hours! Parents will be provided with tips to build pre-reading skills while sharing this exciting book with their child.