During the next two weeks, 75,000 copies of the book “Grumpy Bird” will be given out to all 4-year-olds in Colorado

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One Book 4 Colorado (OB4CO) is a collaborative effort between Colorado Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia’s office, Reach Out and Read Colorado, the Colorado State Library, the Denver Preschool Program, public libraries, the private sector, and the nonprofit and foundation communities. It is based on the idea that providing young children with access to books promotes early literacy and helps families serve as their children’s first and most important teachers.

OB4CO is an annual event that started in 2012. Each year, a book is selected to be given away to all 4-year-olds in Colorado over a two-week period in the spring. This year’s book is Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard. Between April 7 and April 21, 75,000 copies of the book will be distributed via public libraries, health clinics, and preschools in the Denver Preschool Program. Interested in getting a book? You can find pickup locations here.

Evaluation results from last year’s OB4CO giveaway indicate that the program was a great success! Of those parents who completed a survey about the program, about half said that they spent more time reading with their child after OB4CO. And, 4 out of 5 of the participating agencies reported that the book giveaway helped them promote reading among young children. One parent commented: “My daughter is pre-reading, so she is very encouraged that she can ‘read’ parts of this book with me–I will read ‘hello cow,’ and she can ‘read’ the animal noise from the next line. It is really great for her self esteem!”

Want to learn more about early literacy and libraries? Check out our Weekly Number post about the Supporting Parents in Early Literacy Through Libraries (SPELL) project and our Fast Facts, “Early Literacy Information on Colorado Public Library Websites.”

Note: This post is part of our series, “The Weekly Number.” In this series, we highlight statistics that help tell the story of the 21st-century library.