Books from Birth is under new leadership in Warren County, but the same desire to instill the love of reading. 

“I’m really looking forward to being the county coordinator for this program,” said Christie Allison, who is taking the reins from Autumn Turner. “I’ve worked with Autumn in this program. I work with kids every day. I see the benefit of this program for them.”

The program provides a free book for children, birth to 5 years old, each month. While Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides the cost of postage, book costs are shared equally by Tennessee’s Early Literacy Foundation and each individual county program. Warren County has 1,400 children participating. The local cost is $1 per book, an amount collected through donations.

Research shows 90% of the growth of a child’s brain happens between birth and 5 years of age. Start young and stay with it, reading to a child can raise his or her IQ by 6 points. It stimulates their imagination, expands their understanding of the world, helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. 

Allison is a familiar face in Kids of Community of Warren County. That organization’s focus is a dedication to the ideal that all children have the right to be important, recognized, and to learn the fundamental core values from responsible adults. 

“Those kids that we’ve gotten signed up at Kids of the Community, it makes a difference that they have those books in their homes from the very beginning. Without reading, nothing else falls into place. Children need to be able to read.” 

Anyone who would like to sign up their child for the free books, which are offered no matter a person’s income, can sign up at www.governorsfoundation.org.