Setting up a preschool library…

Things Education
Jun 6
5 min read

…to build a reading culture!

Hello all. Welcome to the 117th edition of TEPS Weekly!

Radhika sighed as she read this news article. She is a librarian for the pre-primary section at a public school in Northern Maharashtra. On her first day, she found a dusty, forgotten room. The only furniture was a locked cupboard filled with old textbooks—no storybooks, no children, no excitement. But she dreamed of an inspiring space where children would fall in love with books.

Radhika started by first changing the physical space. She opened the cupboard and cleared out what was no longer needed. With permission from the head teacher, she cleaned the room and added some colourful mats.

Then she began her research on what books to add to the library. Even with a limited budget, one thing was clear to her – the books should appeal to children. She looked for books and magazines suited for preschoolers – books with attractive pictures and big fonts, with rhymes and even nonsensical words, with repeated patterns and relatable characters, on Indian culture and familiar contexts, books in Marathi and Hindi.

She placed baskets of books within children’s reach and covered the walls with posters from popular stories. Slowly, children began peeking in.

Reading Corner or Library Space:

It should be tidy, well-ventilated and inviting.
Use child-sized furniture or floor mats.
Keep books in low baskets or open shelves where children can see and reach them.
Decorate the space with posters of story characters or book covers.

The NEP 2020 and NCERT guidelines recommend that all schools, even Anganwadis, set up reading corners with colourful seating and displays.

Reading Material Selection:

Include story books, magazines and comics.
Include books in local languages.
Think of the age group (3–8 years). Look for books with:
- rhyme and rhythm
- simple storylines and repetitive patterns
- characters that students can connect with
- age-appropriate themes like friendship and self-awareness
- interactive elements like touch-and-feel or lift-the-flap
- inspirational and culturally relevant stories
All books and magazines must have:
- Big, clear fonts for young readers.
- Eye-catching illustrations that help tell the story.
- Durability—books should survive regular handling.

Samagra Shiksha provides library grants from ₹5,000 to ₹20,000 and recommends age-appropriate book lists.

Radhika’s efforts had everyone noticing the library. Now, library visits were included in the children’s weekly schedule. Radhika’s next step was to build excitement around reading.

She began read-aloud sessions, choosing simple, fun stories in Marathi, Hindi and English. She used different voices for characters and sometimes brought along a scarf or a stick to make the story more exciting. When she paused and asked, “What do you think will happen next?” the children shouted out answers with joy.

On some days, she would have the children sit around her and point at each word as she read.

On other days, she would play audio storybooks or show slides of picture books using the old projector. Sometimes, she made children act out a story. Children now asked, “Will you tell that story again?”

Soon, some children liked to sit with books on their own.

Library Activities

To make stories come alive:
- Read stories aloud, using different tones, voices and facial expressions.
- Use simple props like hats, puppets or paper masks.
- Tell stories in local languages so children can relate easily.
- Involve children by asking them to guess what happens next, turn pages or point at pictures.

To increase engagement:
- Play audio storybooks to add variety to reading time.
- Use a phone or speaker (if available) to play songs related to books or stories.
- Show picture slides of stories on a wall using a projector or printouts.
- Organise story-based games like matching characters with their actions.
- Make students dramatise stories—even simple actions like walking like a lion.

To foster reading:
- Shared reading is when a teacher reads aloud while children look at pictures and join in with repeated words or sounds. They match spoken words with written words and understand how a book works.
- Paired reading is when two children read together. Children learn from each other.
- Independent reading is when a child chooses a book and looks through it alone. Even if they can’t read all the words yet, they look at the pictures and enjoy the story on their own.

NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement) aims to train teachers on the importance of reading, how to manage libraries and how to conduct reading-based activities to develop a culture of reading amongst children.

It was clear that students enjoyed coming to the library, but Radhika realised that a reading culture could not grow in isolation.

She talked to the school teachers, suggesting they include daily story time in classrooms. One teacher turned a small corner into a mini-library, decorated with paper puppets and story quotes.

Radhika initiated the celebration of National Reading Day in the school. Students painted their favourite book characters, and some teachers put up a puppet show.

Next, Radhika reached out to parents during school meetings. She explained how even 10 minutes of reading together at home could help. She initiated fortnightly story sessions by community members – once a retired grandmother came to tell folktales, and another time an engineer narrated an exciting story on space.

Slowly, reading became a shared joy—across classrooms, homes and the community.

Support needed for libraries

Classroom teachers can:
- Set daily or weekly story-time routines
- Integrate library visits into students’ schedule
- Build reading corners in classroom, if possible

The school can:
- Celebrate reading during special events like National Reading Day (June 19).
- Organise book-themed events: puppet shows, competitions or story character dress-ups.
- Keep the focus on joyful reading, not marks or assessments.
- Create poem corners and message boards related to reading.

Samagra Shiksha recommends that schools must devote a minimum of two periods in a week as library period for every class.

Parents can:
- Read at home, even for a few minutes daily
- Contribute in kind such as books, furniture etc.
People from the community can:
- Volunteer for story sessions at school
- Organise local events, like language festivals

Although Radhika’s journey is based in a rural public school, all the discussed aspects (at the library, class, school and community level) are instrumental and needed in public and private school libraries of rural and urban India.

Impact of developing a reading culture in early years

As we can learn from Radhika’s story, every small step, be it placing books within reach or asking what happens next, helps turn reading from a boring task to a thing of joy. Reading for fun not only improves students’ vocabulary and comprehension but also fosters deep critical thinking, which is crucial for learning across all subjects. It has been shown to improve academic performance, self-awareness and personality development. NCERT’s National Achievement Survey 2017 found that students with access to school libraries and storybooks performed better on their tested learning outcomes.

NEP 2020 defines the preschool and early primary years as the “Foundational Stage”, when children begin to develop essential foundational literacy skills such as phonemic awareness. Exposing children of this age to a language-rich environment can give rise to an intrinsic motivation for reading and a genuine love for books. Provided we remember that Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift. - Kate DiCamillo

P.S. We express our deep gratitude to the Bookworm, Goa team, especially Anandita Rao, for sharing their insights and experience with us.

For those interested in further reading, here are a couple of their blogs: