Toronto Public Library Unveils 'Playground' Literacy Center

Don’t expect to hear any shushing in the children’s room of the Toronto Public Library. That’s because it just added a few new preschool programs, including a literacy center that resembles a playground.

The first of several planned KidsStops—places that look like play areas, but are aimed at getting little ones ready to read when they start school—was recently unveiled at the S. Walter Stewart branch in East York, which has been closed since September 2006 for a major renovation.

And so far, it’s been a huge hit, say library staffers.

Upon entering the 1,000-square foot area, kids insert their library cards into the slot of a red ball to turn on the archway lights, says Ken Setterington, child and youth advocate for the library. Then they climb aboard a new rocket ship, where they can peek at an array of stars. The rocket ship’s side, which doubles as a puppet theater, is also a real draw. Oh, and the new computers and flashing lights are a big hit, too.

Plans are already in place for three more such projects, geared to children from birth to age five. This KidsStop, which cost $100,000 and was part of the branch's overall renovation, offers an array of interactive incentives. There’s a three-foot-high book for preschoolers to read with their parents, a table where they can trace letters, a talking tube, a wall of blocks that spin with a picture on one side and a nursery rhyme on the other, and toddler-sized computers that take young viewers directly to TumbleBookLibrary, where they can read and hear stories.

"The exciting part of opening the KidsStop was watching the children rush into the area," Setterington says. "First they ran to the rocket and then they checked the computers, flipped through the book, tested the phone, and then listened to a story."

The KidsStops are an extension of the American Library Association's Every Child Ready to Read