Helping Books Helping Families: A Picture Book/Storytelling/Discussion Program.

Helping Books Help Families (HBHF) is a book discussion program developed by the State Library of Ohio to be instituted by public and school libraries in the state of Ohio. The focus of the program is to promote reading with three groups: families as a group, to parents alone as role models for reading, and to students in school libraries. There are three separate theme units in this manual designed to accompany the program: "Families Talk,""Parents Talk," and "Students Talk." HBHF is structured as a four to six week Picture Book/Storytelling/Discussion program. Though it is expected to be held at the library, those responsible are encouraged to partner with schools, daycares, Headstarts, Evenstarts, ABLE (Adult Basic Literacy Education) providers and other organizations in the community in all aspects of the program--from planning, to promoting, to securing funds. Contents include: Reviewer Form; Mission, Goals, & Copyright Use; Description of Program; Program Structure; HBHF Terminology; HBHF StaffingKey Roles; HBHF Program Components (Families Talk Themes, Parents Talk Themes, and Students Talk Themes); Publicity and Promotion; Outreach and Networking Tips; Funding and Grantwriting; Evaluation; and Support Resources. Appendixes include: information and resources on discussing books with families and Ohio organizations/contact information. (AEF)