At The New York Public Library (NYPL), we believe in order for children to be ready for school, and for a lifetime full of reading and learning, the adults in their lives need to be responsive to their developmental needs.

We take a "whole child" approach in our early literacy practice at NYPL. We see children as whole beings whose intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development are all inter-related and inform each other. 

Libraries—and especially you, the librarian—play an important role in creating a welcoming space where adults can interact with children in responsive, developmentally appropriate ways that build all the skills necessary for a child’s success in school and beyond. Librarians are essential both for teaching children directly and for modeling best early literacy practices to caregivers. 

Take a look at this brief video, where we picture the inputs and skill sets developed through early literacy programming as parts of a growing tree: