Tennessee First Lady Completes August Statewide Swing to Promote Imagination Library and Read20 Family Book Club in Middle Tennessee

First Lady Crissy Haslam promotes Imagination Library and READ20 Family Book Club in Rutherford, Bedford, Marshall, Maury and Cheatham counties
 
NASHVILLE – First Lady Crissy Haslam concluded her August statewide swing to promote the Imagination Library and her READ20 Family Book Club today with stops in Rutherford, Bedford, Marshall, Maury and Cheatham counties.

As part of her initiative to encourage early literacy and parental engagement in children’s academic lives, Mrs. Haslam attended events in Rutherford and Bedford counties to promote their local Imagination Library, a program that puts free, high-quality, age-appropriate books in the hands of registered Tennessee children statewide. Mrs. Haslam also visited libraries in Marshall and Maury counties and the Cheatham County Fair to encourage participation in her READ20 Family Book Club, a program encouraging Tennessee families to read together for at least 20 minutes each day.

“The Imagination Library and the READ20 Family Book Club programs encourage early literacy and parental engagement in children’s academic lives,” said Haslam. “Reading together as a family is one of the best ways to prepare children for bright academic futures.”

Mrs. Haslam encouraged Middle Tennessee communities to support their local Imagination Library program and participation in the READ20 Family Book Club during her visits, reading to children and donating copies of E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web to libraries. The First Lady promoted her READ20 Family Book Club at the Cheatham County Fair by distributing copies of Charlotte’s Web to families at the fair.

“If parents read to their children for 20 minutes each day, students are likely to be significantly more successful in school,” said Haslam. “Tennessee is fortunate to have the Imagination Library as a unique resource for families, providing free books for children from birth until age five, so that families can start reading together beginning at birth.”

To learn how to support your county’s Imagination Library program, or for information on how to register a child, visit www.GovernorsFoundation.org, or call toll-free at 1-877-99-BOOKS.

For more information about the Read20 Family Book Club visit www.tn.gov/read20, www.facebook.com/CrissyHaslam, follow @Read20TN on Twitter, or visit your local public library.