How Much is 1000?

I often think back to Dana Schwartz’s picture book, “How Much is A Million?” probably because of Steven Kellogg’s amazing illustrations. The whole idea behind the text is brilliant, because stop for a minute. Can you think about what a million of anything really looks like? I can barely wrap my head around it. But I had fun doing it when my second or third grade teacher introduced me to the thought via this book.

A thousand seems more manageable. I think I can picture 1,000. So how fun that I walked into the library the other day to discover their new initiative, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. I’ve seen this concept around here and there, most notably, via Whitney English’s Instagram. And I love it. There are many things about which I feel strongly, but few about which I feel passionate.

This is absolutely one of those I feel passionate things.

So we’re taking the plunge, and coloring these little shells on their (downloadable!) tracking pages*, and we’re reading 1,000 books before Kindergarten. And I share this, hopefully not from atop a soap box, but from a place of – this thing is so cool and you should think about doing it. Or just tuck it away in your head, and hold onto the idea that reading a book a day gets you there well before your child’s 5th birthday.

*Despite having been a mom for two years, there is a teeny tiny perfectionist still buried somewhere deep inside of me, and she is worried that I didn’t begin this undertaking the minute my son was born. So he’ll actually hit 1,000 books before we color in 1,000 fish.

Clicking on the images will take you to Amazon links.