Indian_in_the_Cupboard_collage2

Letter: Smiles, hugs and thanks

by Letters

Good afternoon,

Attached, please find a collage of several drawings from the sixth grade students where our daughter teaches at Robert L. Bland Middle School in Weston, Lewis County.
I read there once a week, and they know how much I enjoy artwork. I love The Indian in the Cupboard and hand out plastic cowboys and Indians about halfway through the book and tell them that, all they are missing is the cupboard.
You can see the little wheels turning. I love to stimulate the imagination — what if…?
What a rich history our country has – and life’s lessons that go along with it.

I also read in three  pre-K classes with Upshur County Head Start in Buckhannon, including one which my wife teaches.
The smiles and hugs are the most wonderful rewards.

Thanks and best wishes,

Donald W. “Woody” Martin, II
French Creek

A snowy day to read

by Book Reviews and Recommendations

Here are a few old Read Aloud favorites when the weather turns wintry: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. This book has been a winter favorite since today’s parents and grandparents were out exploring in the snow. PK-1

Axle Annie by Robin Pulver. No matter how hard it snows, Axle Annie will get the students to school and home again. PK-2

Snow by Cynthia Rylant captures that kid surprise that even adults sometimes still feel when they wake up to the altered world. 1-5

Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. Few Nate stories live up to the first, great kid-noir classic, but this one is pretty good. A real mystery kids can solve if they watch for clues. 1-3

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin is the true story of the 19th-century Vermont man who figured out how to photograph individual snowflakes, allowing people to marvel at their beauty and uniqueness. Suitable for a class that can handle a longer read aloud session. It’s also nice if your library has one of W.A. Bentley’s books, such as Snowflakes in Photographs, just to see some more of his work. Listeners will not look at that sole flake briefly caught on their cuffs the same way afterward. 3-6 Of course, you can always find many more recommendations at our Book Lists and Reviews page.

Our Annual Fund update: Why we ask

by DonorsFundraising

As we near the end of the year, Read Aloud West Virginia is grateful to the many donors, friends and volunteers who support our efforts that motivate children to want to read. We cannot do it without you.

Our Annual Fund drive continues. We are trying to reach goals for next year’s work. If you have not given and are considering, please know:

1. Read Aloud has Neighborhood Investment Program tax credits available. Those credits can be used any time over the next five years, starting with the donation year. They lower a West Virginia personal income tax bill or a corporate net income tax bill by as much as half the gift amount starting with donations of at least $500. Donors may receive no more than $100,000 a year in NIP credits, and credits cannot be used to reduced a tax bill by more than half. That means a $10,000 donation would cut a tax bill by $5,000. A $500 donation would reduce a tax bill by $250.

2. What we are doing is working. First, Read Aloud focuses on motivating children to want to read, not fussing at them to read.

Berkeley County volunteer lights up kindergarten, second-grade classrooms

by Uncategorized
Betty Cuthbert looked up and realized she had been reading to Berkeley County school children for 25 years, with no plans to slow down.

By Bob Fleenor

Betty Cuthbert was surprised to realize she’s been a volunteer reader at Berkeley Heights Elementary School in Martinsburg for the past quarter century.

“I didn’t know it had been 25 years. If you enjoy it, you don’t count (the years),” she said. “I feel sorry for people who spend their time doing nothing.”

Cuthbert is one of approximately 175 Read Aloud West Virginia volunteers who visit Berkeley County classrooms each week.

Cuthbert, a native of Queens, N.Y., is one of Read Aloud’s longest-tenured readers. She and Bob, her husband of 55 years, moved to Berkeley County about 30 years ago when Bob took a job at Dulles International Airport.

Steve Keenan/The Montgomery Herald Fayette County educators, parents, Read Aloud volunteers and Brookfield Renewable employees gather to mark the company’s recent donation. At center, Read Aloud West Virginia Executive Director Mary Kay Bond, Kevin Moriarty of Brookfield Renewable; and Andrew Davis, Brookfield Renewable director of stakeholder relations, North America, hold the ceremonial check.

Brookfield Renewable gives $15,000 for local youth programs

by Uncategorized


Montgomery — Brookfield Renewable has donated $15,000 to Read Aloud West Virginia to support literacy for the children of West Virginia.

“As a member of the West Virginia community, and particularly the Fayette County and Montgomery areas, we are proud to be able to make this donation,” said Andrew Davis, Brookfield Renewable Director of Stakeholder Relations, North America.

“Read Aloud West Virginia has done tremendous work in promoting the importance of reading among the youth of West Virginia by keeping books in children’s hands and by teaching them how reading is not only a valuable life skill, but how fun and enjoyable it is,” Davis said.

Show, don’t tell: Poetry, relevance sell middle schoolers on reading

by BooksEventsUncategorized

 

By Dawn Miller

“What would you say to the kids in the room to encourage them to read?” Newbery Award winner Kwame Alexander was asked at the West Virginia Book Festival in Charleston.

“I wouldn’t say anything,” Alexander answered.

“Who wants to be told? If you really want to connect and make somebody feel engaged, show them. That’s the real way to reach anybody. Make them feel something.”

From one of the readers in the crowd, Alexander borrowed a copy of his novel Rebound, a story about a 12-year-old boy who is dealing with loss, who can’t play basketball, but wishes he could. “This is what I would do,” he said, and recited an excerpt from the novel, which like all his books, is written in almost singable poetry.

It’s so singable, Alexander’s musician best friend Randy Preston, a retired teacher, brought hs guitar and sang a song from it. The two perform together now. They have visited almost 900 schools in the last three years.

“I don’t think you have to tell kids why they need to read,” Alexander said. “I think you’ve got to show them.”

BAM! stores in WV to donate 10 percent of sales to Read Aloud on Oct. 27

by Events

At all Books-a-Million stores in West Virginia on Oct. 27, tell the cashier you want to support Read Aloud West Virginia, and the store will donate 10 percent of the purchase amount to help Read Aloud put books on the minds and in the hands of West Virginia children.

Stores in Barboursville, Beckley, Bluefield, Bridgeport, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Charleston, Vienna and Wheeling are participating in Books-a-Million’s Bookfair Program with Read Aloud for the third time. In Charleston, both stores at Dudley Farms Plaza on Corridor G and in the Charleston Town Center mall are participating.

Read Aloud volunteers will be in stores on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018 to answer questions, share information and sign up volunteers.