NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT: Cathy Leiber
www.JudithsReadingRoom.org
Judith’s Reading Room Dedicates Library for Children with Multiple Handicaps in Czech Republic
Zahradka Primary School to act as “Mother” Library
November 16, 2024 — Prague, Czech Republic. One week ago, Judith’s Reading Room officially designated its 108th named library in its 25th country with its two Czech literacy partners, Pink Crocodile and The Neratov Association.
Serving children with multiple handicaps and Autism spectrum disorders, Pink Crocodile and The Neratov Association worked hand-in-hand with Judith’s Reading Room to design a curated library of concept story books in the form of board books plus sound, touch and feel sensory books that the teachers say students will enjoy and find interesting. Examples of books include: Never Touch a Pop-Up Dinosaur!, Itsy Bitsy Spider — Touch & Trace Nursery Rhymes, and Don’t Look Inside — Lift Flaps and Touch. For this library, the organization donated 86 books at US$1,070.
(L) Ulrike Michel-Schneider, board member, Pink Crocodile, suggested that the custom Judith’s Reading Room library “hopscotch” across the Czech Republic — rotating the library from the “mother” school, Zahradka Primary School across the country to “satellite” schools and institutions, each serving between 10-40 students. Next to her, Bornislava Havlikova, Director Special School Neratov and (R) Paulina Sjosdrandova, Pink Crocodile. (Photos of children supplied by Special School Neratov.)
“The idea of a library ‘hopscotching’ across the Czech Republic is a new concept in mobile libraries. It is exciting to imagine that these books will reach children in all Pink Crocodile and The Nerataov Association schools as the books constantly rotate,” said Cathy Leiber, President & Co-Founder, Judith’s Reading Room.
Today I asked Ulrike Michel-Schneider, board member Pink Crocodile, why are books important for children with severe handicaps? She told us, “we don’t understand what they understand. But, we see that they have reactions — they react — they sense differences that triggers something inside them. For example, they may not be able to see, but they can tell the difference between a carpet and a wooden floor. For those with sight, colors evoke different feelings. They like some colors a lot. They understand different shapes. These reactions all represent mini steps forward.” Judith’s Reading Room donated 86 sensory books today to compose a traveling library that will hopscotch across the Czech Republic reaching severely handicapped children from border to borderThe Czech Republic is the 5th European country to house a Judith’s Reading Room library. The organization dedicated libraries in Albania in 2012, in Romania in 2014, in The Kyrgyz Republic in 2015 and in Scotland in 2024.
Judith’s Reading Room, a 501 (c) 3 literacy organization, was founded in 2010 in the memory of Judith F. Krug, first cousin to the founders. Judy, a distinguished librarian, served as Director, Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association for 40 years, defending First Amendment rights of her fellow librarians.
Judith’s Reading Room’s mission is to enrich lives and societies by proactively encouraging freedom through literacy. The organization has actively pursued that mission by establishing, to date, 108 libraries in 25 countries with more than 133,000 donated books worth US$1.4 million. For more information, visit our website at www.judithsreadingroom.org.