Building language skills with infants and toddlers will be easier thanks to generous support from the Kootenay Savings Community Foundation, who recently awarded a $9,000 grant to support the Books for B.C. Babies program in the East and West Kootenay and Boundary regions.

With this funding, the Kootenay Library Federation has purchased enough Books for Babies kits for every Kootenay Boundary newborn arriving in 2011.

Books for B.C. Babies is a community supported program dedicated to connecting families with resources to help their child’s development in the critical zero to five years.

Each program kit contains a board book, a CD for sing-alongs and a booklet for parents and caregivers explaining why babies need books, word play, songs and rhymes. The kit also contains a $5 coupon courtesy of Kootenay Savings, which will allow parents to open a Kootenay Savings Start Account for their youngster without the membership fee.

Research continues to show that reading, singing, talking and playing with newborns is the best way to build early language skills.

Language skills influence a child’s lifelong success. This program is a start toward supporting each child to reach his or her potential. It introduces baby’s family to the world of books for fun and learning, all available through your local library.

In most communities, the kits are delivered jointly by the local public library, the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy and the Public Health Units of Interior Health. Babies typically receive their kit at their six-month check up at the health unit.

If you have questions about Books for B.C. Babies or the kits, please contact the Invermere Public Library at 250-342-6416 or Radium Hot Springs Library at 250-347-2434.