Family Focus
Every Child, Every Parent, Every Day


Hug-a-Book

When children love to read, they love to learn

Discovering a love of reading is the beginning of a lifelong relationship with books

Hug-a-Book, an early literacy initiative of Family Focus, Inc., promotes literacy and a love of books and reading by providing:

"The shared joy of a parent and child
connecting with a story is the
heart of Hug-a-Book."
- Sue Gottschall, Hug-a-Book founder

How can Hug-a-Book help children succeed in school and life?

Coming up:
Please join us for our annual fund-raiser,
An Afternoon in the Park

When: Feb. 24, 2008, 1 - 3 p.m.
Where: Peggy Notebaert Museum, Chicago
Cost: $40
RSVP (by Feb. 15, 2008): molly.gallagher@family-focus.org

Click HERE for invitation*

* You will need Adobe Acrobat to see the invitation. If you do not already have Adobe Acrobat, you can download it free by clicking HERE or on the icon below.

  download Adobe Acrobat Reader

Hug-a-Book can assist your school, program or early childhood center develop each child's love of reading,
writing and learning.

Customized workshops

Hug-a-Book provides customized literacy training workshops that support teachers, parents and other adults, building on best practices in early literacy education.

Workshops include:

* The Joys and Comforts of Books and Reading
* Reading Aloud
* Emotional Meanings in Story
* Extensions through Storytelling and Dramatization
* Don't Leave the Story in the Book
* Reading and Writing Connections to Story
* A Print-Rich Environment Reflecting
   Children's Words and Ideas
* Setting Up and Establishing the Lending Library
* Using Books to Meet Curriculum Goals
   and Objectives

Culture of Literacy Program

Developed in response to requests for more comprehensive services, Hug-a-Book offers schools and centers this program which is designed to be carried out over the length of a school year. Hug-a-Book consultants provide one day of consultation per month for eight months, typically October through May. Culture of Literacy program activities include:

* Initial assessment of classroom literacy environment
* Administrative, classroom, and center-based consultations
* Classroom observations
* Modeling and coaching
* Teacher workshops
* Parent workshops
* Parent-child literacy events
* Final assessment of classroom literacy environment

"Students are excited and look forward
to reading, and our teachers have a renewed sense of inspiration as they use Hug-a-Book principles and books."
- elementary school principal

Our Mission:
Hug-a-Book supports teachers, parents, and other adults as they instill a love of books and reading in young children of diverse backgrounds.

Hug-a-Book and Family Focus:
Hug-a-Book’s interest in early learning and support for parents of young children make its collaboration with Family Focus a perfect fit. Hug-a-Book provides quality, multicultural, hardcover books to early learning centers and offers workshops for teachers and parents to help them encourage young children to form a lifelong love of reading.

 

mom and child reading

Books we love
(Click the pictures below for information on each book.)

book cover-Show Way
Show Way

On her Web site, author Jacqueline Woodson notes that, " 'Show Ways,' or quilts, once served as secret maps for freedom-seeking slaves.."

An Egg Is Quiet
An Egg Is Quiet

Dianna Aston's clever approach to investigating the various kinds of eggs and egg layers

views & reviews

Chicago Foundation for Education
Chicago Foundation for Education

The Chicago Foundation for Education will be holding a workshop on Saturday, September 30. For more information, or to register, please click HERE.

About town
Local Book Store Events


The Magic Tree Bookstore
Anderson's Bookshop
Transitions Bookplace
Women and Children First

 

Contact us:

Hug-a-Book
An early literacy initiative of Family Focus, Inc.
310 S. Peoria, Suite 301
Chicago, IL 60607

Phone: 312-421-5200;
Fax: 312-421-8185

hugabook@family-focus.org
www.family-focus.org

 

 


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