Tish Rabe
Tish Rabe, the best-selling author of over 160 children’s books including the popular Dr. Seuss, Cat In the Hat Learning Library, is partnering with Reach Out and Read Connecticut in support of their mission – to prepare disadvantaged children for academic success. Rabe is generously donating her time and her talents to create customized poems that celebrate the special moments in life including anything from the birth of a child to a retirement.
These poems are available for the public to purchase for $50 with 100% of the proceeds going to Reach Out and Read Connecticut. The poems are called “Magical Milestones” and can be purchased at https://www.crowdrise.com/magicalmilestones. The partners hope to raise $10,000 during the holiday season.
“I’m having fun creating original poems for families that they can enjoy for years to come.” said Ms. Rabe, a resident of Mystic, CT. “I am a passionate supporter of early childhood literacy and know how important it is to get a free book into the hands of every low-income child in Connecticut. I am happy to do whatever I can to make that happen.”
Focusing on low-income families, Reach Out and Read is a national organization that partners with medical providers to develop critical early reading skills in children as well as support healthy brain and social/emotional development. Reach Out and Read is far more than a book give-a-way program. By leveraging the unique relationship between parents and medical providers, the program is able to positively change parental behavior and increase parent involvement in their children’s lives – a critical lever linked to the educational, emotional, physical, and social health of children.
“The Reach Out and Read model provides parents with personalized, age-appropriate advice about books and reading at every well-child visit from 6 months to 5 years, along with the gift of a new developmentally and culturally appropriate books. Books are used by the medical provider at the beginning of the visit during developmental surveillance, and as a vehicle to offer concrete guidance to parents. Armed with this guidance, parents make reading aloud a part of their daily routines,” said Dr. Catherine Wiley, Connecticut Medical Director for Reach Out and Read Connecticut.
She continues, “Among the many anticipatory guidance items medical providers have on their checklist, Reach Out and Read has the best evidence base. Reach Out and Read is the only anticipatory guidance activity proven to promote child development. When you participate in Reach Out and Read, you address a critical need with a successful model. Children served by Reach Out and Read are read to more often, have better expressive and receptive language skills and are better prepared for success in school.” Dr. Wiley, who practices at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, brought Reach Out and Read to Connecticut in the early 90’s and continues to champion the program.
“We are thrilled to be working with Rabe on this new endeavor and to have her as part of our Connecticut Advisory Board,” said Christine Garber, Connecticut Executive Director for Reach Out and Read. “Her “Love You, Hug You, Read to You” book is fabulous and has been well received by our medical providers and families. We are privileged to have such a creative and enthusiastic person supporting our mission.”
There are 70 Reach Out and Read programs throughout Connecticut predominately at community health centers, clinics and hospitals. Their team of nearly 300 medical providers distribute close to 70,000 new children’s books each year. Nearly 40,000 children and families receive the Reach Out and Read model in Connecticut.
“Research shows that if you partner with parents and intervene in the first five years of life, you can dramatically improve the early literacy skills of a child, putting them on the track for success in school and in life,” said Garber. “Childhood development experts tell us that the most important thing that parents can do to prepare their children to succeed in school is to read aloud to them every day. “
The Reach Out and Read model is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the program has one of the strongest records of research support of any primary care intervention. In a significant milestone earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a policy statement which, for the first time ever, formally recommends that pediatricians incorporate into every well-child visit both books and advice about reading, referencing Reach Out and Read as an effective intervention. This is a significant step for both the organization and early literacy efforts.
Nationally, Reach Out and Read doctors and nurses distribute over 6.5 million books to more than 4 million children and their families annually at 5,000 pediatric practices, hospitals, clinics and health centers in all 50 states. More than 20,000 medical providers nationwide currently participate in Reach Out and Read.
For more information, visit www.reachoutandread.org/connecticut and www.tishrabe.com.
