![\"girl-by-river\"](\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/fs-yavapai-2016.jpg\")
Young Kylie Riebli loves princesses, the color pink and paddling her own kayak while exploring the Verde River with her parents –she also loves to read books.<\/p>\n\u200bYoung Kylie Riebli loves princesses, the color pink and paddling her own kayak while exploring the Verde River with her parents –she also loves to read books.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like stories about princesses and princesses having adventures,\u201d Kylie said.<\/p>\n
Her mother, Miranza Riebli Sellers credits that love of reading to Kylie\u2019s time at Precious Stones Preschool in Sedona. There, Kylie participated in a book-exchange program called Raising A Reader. First Things First funds the reading program in the Yavapai region.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaising A Reader brought the books to us at Precious Stones,\u201d Sellers said, explaining that the kids take home a new selection of books every week. \u201cWe read a different book every night at bedtime.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program provides a weekly assortment of five preselected books, based on the age of the child.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaising A Reader is about bringing books into the home and encouraging families to read together,\u201d said Carolyn Shelley, who coordinates the program at Yavapai College for the region. \u201cAt the heart of the program are the red book bags that are rotated each week for the children up to age 5 to share with their families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many times, the books come with story-based activities that parents can do with their kids at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamilies gain deep understanding of the impact reading aloud has on brain development, school readiness and parent-child bonding from birth,\u201d Shelley said.<\/p>\n
For Kylie, the program helped her be ready for kindergarten.<\/p>\n
\u201cKylie went on to have a very successful kindergarten year,\u201d Sellers said. \u201cShe was a top kindergarten student and was even selected as a student of the week. I believe her love for reading was fostered by her participation in the Raising A Reader program.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"