Department of Economic Security
5441 E. 22nd Street
Tucson, AZ 85716
(520) 584-8226

KOOL Smiles on 6th
2990 S. 6th Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85711
(520) 403-6423

KOOL Smiles on 22nd
5504 E. 22nd Street
Tucson, AZ 85711
(520) 403-6423

Our Family Services
209 S. Tucson Blvd., Suite 3
Tucson, AZ 85716
(520) 323-1708, ext. 404

The Parent Connection
5326 E. Pima Street
Tucson, AZ 85712
(520) 321-1500

Pima County Adult Detention Center
1270 W. Silverlake Road
Tucson, AZ 85713

WIC - Abrahms Office
3950 S. Country Club, 1st Floor
Tucson, AZ 85714

WIC - Centro del Sur Office
1631 S. 10th Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85713

WIC - East Office
6920 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite G
Tucson, AZ 85710

WIC - Flowing Wells Office
4500 N. Old Romero Road
Tucson, AZ 85705

WIC - Westside Office
1390 W. Speedway, Room C-2
Tucson, AZ 85745

Read to Me, Tucson! Partnership:

MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS:
(520) 721-2334, www.makewayforbooks.org
MWFB provides early literacy services in limited resource child care centers and directly to parents of children five and under.

Pima County Public Library:
(520) 791-4010, http://www.library.pima.gov/
Enriching lives and building community through opportunities to learn, know, interact and grow.

Reach Out and Read of
Southern Arizona:
(520) 256-6100, www.reachoutandread.org
RORSA promotes early literacy by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud in pediatric exam rooms in Southern Arizona.

The Blue Book House debuted on
KOLD's This Morning Show--view it here.

What is the Blue Book House Project?

The Blue Book House Project is a book exchange program of the Read to Me, Tucson! Partnership. The Blue Book Houses (bookcases shaped like houses) enable families to increase their home libraries so that they can read aloud together more often. Tucson families are invited to take a book home with them each time they visit the Blue Book House.

How does the Blue Book House Project work?

Blue Book Houses with gently used books are located in community centers and social service offices where families frequently visit. Each Pima County Library Branch serves as a donation site for the Blue Book House Project. To find a branch near you call (520) 791-4010.

Positive experiences with books early in life develops a life-long love of books and reading. Access to quality, age appropriate books in the home is one of the most important indicator’s for success in school. To develop a greater culture of literacy, this project seeks to place books in all of our city spaces. We challenge our community to get excited about sharing great books through this and other projects!

How Can I Support the Blue Book House Project?

Visit a Blue Book House near you regularly to share the love of books with your friends and family.

Adopt/Host a Blue Book House. Businesses and civic groups are invited to help maintain the flow of quality children’s books through book drives in their business and neighborhood.

Host a gently used book drive.

Donate your gently used children’s books at your local library.

Why Read Aloud?

A healthy child is one that is read to every day. It is in the early stages of a child’s life that the brain develops and acquires learning skills that will be used throughout life. Brain cells form connections primarily through experience. Every time a parent or caregiver interacts with an infant or toddler, connections are formed. Positive interactions with nurturing caregivers—like the attention children receive when they are read to--profoundly stimulate young brains. This stimulation causes new connections to form neural pathways (or "learning pathways") and strengthens existing ones.

Exposure to oral language provides a great opportunity to stimulate those areas of the brain that are most needed for the development of oral language and literacy skills. When reading is done in a positive way, the connections made in the brain form positive connections that stay with the child. The children associate reading with something positive and fun. They begin a lifelong love of reading.

Plus, it's a lot of fun to share books with a young child!

Why Books?

Singing, reading, or sharing books exposes children to a richer vocabulary and a broader base of ideas than everyday speech. Even though they may not be actually reading, the young child is hearing unusual words and beginning to understand the flow of sentences.