An innovative approach to literacy access among young children

The Child Development and Learning Laboratory is now the proud home of a brand new book vending machine! Launched by the Sleepy Dog Book Foundation, the Book Vending Machine Program allows children access to high quality reading options, emphasizing the importance of book ownership and literacy access.  

Books inside these vending machines are obtained not with actual money, but with tokens. This will give children at the CDLL the autonomy to choose their own book at no cost to them, which they can then keep and take home.

“The book vending machine gives our children the power to choose stories that speak to them,” says Jackie Weller, Director of the CDLL. “When children feel ownership over their reading, their confidence and curiosity grow.” She continues by saying these vending machines reflect the CDLL’s commitment to creating a literacy-rich environment—bringing the community together around the joy of reading.

This is the 12^th vending machine that Sleepy Dog Books has placed within a local Mount Pleasant area school. While many schools utilize these vending machines as a reward system for good behavior, the CDLL is taking a more inclusive approach tailored to its young students—many of them between 3-4 years old. Weller explains that tokens will be given out in order of students’ last names to ensure every child gets an equal opportunity to choose a book, with an additional token granted on their birthday. 

Riley Justis, co-owner of Sleep Dog Books in downtown Mount Pleasant, says, “We are excited to expand our network of book vending machines to include the community of Central Michigan University’s Child Development Learning Laboratory.” He continues, “We see this partnership as first, serving the students of the CDLL, expanding access to high quality books, and as a mechanism for future educators to learn about the importance of literacy access to carry forward into their future schools and communities they will call home.”

This book vending machine is made possible by PNC Grow Up Great. This initiative helps prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life by partnering with organizations to enhance educational opportunities and promote the growth of communities through economic development initiatives.