The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) recently announced a new, free program just for families: 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. The program encourages families with young children to read--yep, you guessed it--1,000 books before they enter kindergarten.

CALS will provide parents with all of the tools they need to participate, including suggested reading lists and log sheets that parents use to keep track of the completed book titles. For every 100 books read and logged, children will receive a sticker. Parents can log books they've read at home, books teachers have read to children during preschool hours or even books read during a library storytime!

Once 10 stickers have been collected, the participating child will receive a free book to take home. The best part: Of course, you can find all of the 1,000 books for free at the library.

The official kick-off event for the program will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27 at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children's Library and Learning Center. Parents are invited to attend and learn more about the program. You can also sign up at your neighborhood CALS library branch or get started at CALS.org/1000-Books.