Visiting Germany at the end of last summer, I noticed young children carrying large cones, decorated and filled with treats and school supplies. The object, I learned, is a “Schultüte,” or “School Cone,” a kind of cardboard cornucopia traditionally given to German children before their very first day of school. It is filled with items preparing them for a good start to their school year and celebrating their rite of passage to a new stage of their lives.
What a lovely idea! We all know how important this transition is. In fact, we do something similar in the U.S. with our backpacks for children at the beginning of each school year. But the special School Cone for five-year-olds struck me as even more meaningful.
Many children enter kindergarten feeling celebrated and prepared. Their parents and caretakers have talked with them, read stories to them, provided educational toys and filled their backpacks. In other words, they are entering school with a full School Cone, a cornucopia of readiness.
But there are also many Pittsburgh children entering school without these experiences and this readiness.
Research has shown that a nurturing home literacy environment involving early book sharing stimulates brain development, supporting language and literacy skills. Studies consistently identify the presence of books in the home as among the strongest predictors of academic success, regardless of family income or parental education.
But not all parents are aware of how valuable it is to read with their small children, and many lack important resources — like the money to collect a home library, the time to visit a public library, or the experience to choose books suited to their children’s developmental stages.
So how do we overcome these barriers and make sure the School Cone of preparedness is full for all children? We can start by giving them books.
A study, authored by Claire Galea, head of research at United Way Australia, found that this act alone can increase family reading time.
The program at the focus of the study — Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library — mails a high-quality, age-appropriate book every month to enrolled children from birth until their fifth birthday, with no household income requirements. Enrolled children were nine times more likely to be read to four or more days per week and nine times more likely to be interested in reading than children not in the program, according to the study. It also found that children who had received just 10 books through the program were far more likely to demonstrate strong emerging literacy skills — and the greatest impact appeared in communities facing the highest barriers.
“…only 44% of third graders in Pittsburgh Public Schools are reading at grade level.”
Literacy is declining nationwide, and we can see the effects of this trend locally, where only 44% of third graders in Pittsburgh Public Schools are reading at grade level. Though literacy interventions of all kinds are urgently needed, we must not neglect ones that focus on the period between birth and age five.
To set our youngest children up for later success, we need to work together to get them reading now. Give books as gifts. Support local literacy organizations. Use free book stores. Use your local library. Read with small children. Let’s send our beginning kindergarteners to school with their School Cones full and their minds amply prepared for a life of learning.
Mary Denison is the executive director and founder of Reading Ready Pittsburgh, whose program Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is currently accepting new enrollment for children ages 0-5 in eligible ZIP codes. Dr. Denison is a former school psychologist and lives in the City of Pittsburgh.
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What Germany’s ‘school cone’ tradition can teach us about childhood literacy
by Guest Commentary by Mary Denison, Pittsburgh's Public Source August 28, 2026
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What Germany’s ‘school cone’ tradition can teach us about childhood literacy
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Visiting Germany at the end of last summer, I noticed young children carrying large cones, decorated and filled with treats and school supplies. The object, I learned, is a “Schultüte,” or “School Cone,” a kind of cardboard cornucopia traditionally given to German children before their very first day of school. It is filled with items preparing them for a good start to their school year and celebrating their rite of passage to a new stage of their lives.
What a lovely idea! We all know how important this transition is. In fact, we do something similar in the U.S. with our backpacks for children at the beginning of each school year. But the special School Cone for five-year-olds struck me as even more meaningful.
Many children enter kindergarten feeling celebrated and prepared. Their parents and caretakers have talked with them, read stories to them, provided educational toys and filled their backpacks. In other words, they are entering school with a full School Cone, a cornucopia of readiness.
But there are also many Pittsburgh children entering school without these experiences and this readiness.
Research has shown that a nurturing home literacy environment involving early book sharing stimulates brain development, supporting language and literacy skills. Studies consistently identify the presence of books in the home as among the strongest predictors of academic success, regardless of family income or parental education.
But not all parents are aware of how valuable it is to read with their small children, and many lack important resources — like the money to collect a home library, the time to visit a public library, or the experience to choose books suited to their children’s developmental stages.
So how do we overcome these barriers and make sure the School Cone of preparedness is full for all children? We can start by giving them books.
A study, authored by Claire Galea, head of research at United Way Australia, found that this act alone can increase family reading time.
The program at the focus of the study — Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library — mails a high-quality, age-appropriate book every month to enrolled children from birth until their fifth birthday, with no household income requirements. Enrolled children were nine times more likely to be read to four or more days per week and nine times more likely to be interested in reading than children not in the program, according to the study. It also found that children who had received just 10 books through the program were far more likely to demonstrate strong emerging literacy skills — and the greatest impact appeared in communities facing the highest barriers.
Literacy is declining nationwide, and we can see the effects of this trend locally, where only 44% of third graders in Pittsburgh Public Schools are reading at grade level. Though literacy interventions of all kinds are urgently needed, we must not neglect ones that focus on the period between birth and age five.
To set our youngest children up for later success, we need to work together to get them reading now. Give books as gifts. Support local literacy organizations. Use free book stores. Use your local library. Read with small children. Let’s send our beginning kindergarteners to school with their School Cones full and their minds amply prepared for a life of learning.
Mary Denison is the executive director and founder of Reading Ready Pittsburgh, whose program Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is currently accepting new enrollment for children ages 0-5 in eligible ZIP codes. Dr. Denison is a former school psychologist and lives in the City of Pittsburgh.
MORE STORIES
Help us continue telling stories like this one.
We’re Pittsburgh’s Public Source, an independent, nonprofit newsroom. That means we rely on donations from readers like you to help us report accurate, timely and impactful stories for the Pittsburgh region — available to everyone without paywalls.
Everyone deserves access to credible information to understand and help shape the region they call home, which is why we work hard everyday to deliver fact-checked stories on education, environment, health, local government and more.
We've seen our journalism prompt widespread change in the Pittsburgh region — but none of it would be possible without the support of our community. If you found this story valuable, consider "paying it forward" by making a gift today.
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