These three little book lovers have read three thousand books between them in a matter of months.
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Bella Goudy, 3, Isabel McGinness, 5, and Peter Nicholls, 2, are the first children in Warrnambool to complete the 1000 Books Before School initiative.
Warrnambool City Council mayor Kylie Gaston presented the trio with certificates on Friday and congratulated them on their efforts.
The Victorian program, which began in Warrnambool in December, encourages families to read together to develop literacy skills and prepare them for school.
Bella’s dad Alex said they borrowed “a wad of books” weekly and the program was an incentive to borrow a few more. Bella’s most-loved book is The Singing Mermaid.
Isabel’s mum Tracy described her as an “absolute book worm from the minute she could hold a book” and said Isabel’s favourite book was Fireman Sam.
Peter 's mum Ami said he loved books and the program encouraged them to read more books together. His favourite title is The Wonky Donkey.
Cr Gaston said it was fantastic to see the enjoyment children gained from reading.
“We know that the more kids read and interact with their families and their carers the richer their vocabularies get,” Cr Gaston said.
She said reading also created a quiet special time for families to spend together.
“When we’ve got all these iPads and technology, time spent reading is wonderful for everybody.”
Warrnambool children’s services library officer Julie Struth said the ceremony recognised the effort that the three children and their parents had made to notch up the 1000 book milestone.