Oh, Baby

"It's never too early to get children reading" is one of the main tenets at Butterfly Books and Literary Center in De Pere, Wisc. "We're really pushing the idea that reading begins at birth," says bookseller Diane Betz. The store encourages local health professionals to prescribe books for kids, such as this summer's ABA Prescription for Reading selection, Sylvia Long's Mother Goose (Chronicle). In addition, Butterfly Books does some of its own prescribing through its biweekly Babies Day Out program for children from birth to 22 months. "We limit it to 15 babies (no older siblings), and usually 15 are signed up with their parents," says Betz, who notes that given the struggle to get little ones out the door on time, usually about 24 or 25 parents and babies come each time. A former librarian, Betz spends hours planning out two special baby storytimes each month, and occasionally invites guests to lead them. "The program has to move fast," she explains. "You have to have the right number of knee bounces and the right amount of quiet and things that are exciting for babies to touch, like wax paper or yarn. It's very worthwhile. We had a woman come in with her three-year-old who had gone through the program, and she said her daughter really likes to read."