Books are one of Chloe Leitmann-Morales’s favorite things. She sorts through the full shelf in her family’s Arlington County living room, pulling out her choices one after another, then settles comfortably on almost any nearby lap. She’s ready to listen and follow along as her father, mother or grandmother reads about Dora the Explorer, different kinds of bellies or the dog Blue, in both English and Spanish.

Chloe has “read” more than 1,000 books. She is 2 years old.

She is a poster child for the Arlington County Public Library system’s “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” program, a months-old effort encouraging preschoolers to strengthen language skills, build their vocabularies and begin love affairs with stories and the printed word.

Read the full story: Arlington library system starts ‘1,000 Books Before Kindergarten’ to urge a love of reading | The Washington Post.