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A Thousand Read-Alouds Before School: a free tracker for little ones
A thousand books read aloud before school starts, one dot each on ten shelves of a hundred. The same favourite counts every time it is read, and every hundred prints a certificate. No end date.
The rules
1000 books to the finish line, whatever the reader's age.
What counts. Every book read aloud to your child, by anyone: a parent, a grandparent, a big sister, a librarian at storytime. The same book read three times is three. Board books, picture books and Peabody's read-aloud stories all count.
The finish. Each hundred prints a certificate along the way; the thousandth dot fills the last shelf.
Who it is for. Babies, toddlers and preschoolers, from birth to the first day of school, and the grown-ups who read to them.
How the tracker works
- Pick your animal. Brothers and sisters each pick their own, up to six on one device, and nobody types a name.
- Tap Log a book and tap the book: a Peabody story at your level, a book from one of Peabody's kids' lists, a book from a series, or, with a grown-up, a book from somewhere else.
- Watch the picture fill. Read on more than one day in a row and the dots show your streak.
- Print the chart or your log at any time. The certificate lights up at the finish line, and only there.
Everything is kept on this device. Nothing a child logs is sent anywhere: Peabody counts that a book was logged in this challenge, and nothing about the book or the reader. Just want paper? The 100-circle sheet prints on its own.
More challenges
- Winter Break19 Dec 2026 – 3 Jan 2027Starts in 37 days
- January1 Jan 2027 – 31 Jan 2027Starts in 50 days
- Reading 20271 Jan 2027 – 31 Dec 2027Starts in 50 days
- Summer1 Jun 2027 – 31 Aug 2027Starts in 201 days
- 100 BooksAny time, no end date
- Book BingoAny time, no end date
- Series ChallengeAny time, no end date
- Read-Aloud 20Any time, no end date
Running this with a class or a club? Print the class wall chart (thirty readers, ten squares each) for the classroom version; the leaders' page has the sign-up sheet and the class log. Need a book? What should I read next asks three questions.