"Ninety percent of children’s brain development occurs in the early years before kindergarten," says Elaine Draeger, President of Sheltering Arms. "Even before they can read, children who grow up in homes rich with printed and spoken word are building skills to become enthusiastic readers."

Operation StoryBook will help families give children this strong start. Anchored by the Children's StoryBook Club, Operation StoryBook will provide 2300 children—most from low-income working families--with 12 new books for their home libraries over the next year. Research-driven curriculum, literary enrichment activities, and parent storytelling workshops will then bring these books alive for Sheltering Arms’ children and their families.

"For many of us, the values we hold most dear are those we learned through stories…stories shared by family, stories heard in worship, stories read in books," says August House’s Laura Deisley. "With our mobile society, children often don’t hear the stories of older generations that in the past taught lessons about character, culture, and community. Operation StoryBook builds children into readers, but it does much more. It turns parents into storytellers." August House’s title, The Clever Monkey, is Operation StoryBook’s September StoryBook Club selection.  Based on storyteller Rob Cleveland’s West African tale about sharing, on September 15^th, 2300 children will hear storytellers perform The Clever Monkey and will receive a copy for their home library.

In addition to August House, other sponsors of Operation StoryBook’s kickoff include Cousins Properties, BellSouth, Alston & Bird, The Coca-Cola Company, Hamby & Aloisio, Hollis & Company, Integrated Management Systems, Morris, Manning & Martin, ProForce, Risk Management, and the Sheltering Arms Board of Directors. The September 15^th kickoff culminates with CockTales and Legends, an evening celebration for volunteers and sponsors co-sponsored by The Margaret Mitchell House. The event honors Ms. Mitchell, who chaired the Sheltering Arms library committee in the 1920s, children’s advocate Dr. Otis Smith, and Sheltering Arms Legend Award recipients Anne Carson, Stiles Conrad, Janet Johnson, and Virginia Williams.

The community is invited to participate in Operation StoryBook by volunteering to read, donating books, or sponsoring a child. Information is available on the Sheltering Arms website at http://www.shelteringarmsforkids.com/pr4.html.