Looking for your next favorite book? The West Virginia Book Festival’s got you covered. With a used book sale, writing workshops, and a line-up of authors including James Patterson, Salina Yoon, Orson Scott Card, and more, this gathering of readers and writers will have something for the whole family.
Orson Scott CardJames Patterson
Read Aloud is particularly excited about the opportunity for cross-generational interest in authors. Headliner James Patterson, for example, a well-known adult author, also has several successful young adult (YA) series, including Maximum Ride, Middle School, and I Funny. Orson Scott Card, author of the popular sci-fi novel, Ender’s Game, also has a YA series called Pathfinder. This is a great opportunity for parents to foster and/or bolster a love of reading with their children through the shared experience of meeting or discovering an author they both enjoy.
James Patterson claims to have set a mission with his writing career that we heartily agree with – “to prove that there is no such thing as a person who ‘doesn’t like to read,’ only people who haven’t found the right book.” We hope to see this message resonate through all aspects of this year’s book festival and awaken the reader in everyone.
Join us on October 4-5 at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center to celebrate our favorite thing – books!
Our volunteer readers and chapters are the face of Read Aloud, doing the rewarding work, week after week, of motivating children to read for fun. Children who read for pleasure grow into better readers and are more likely to excel in school and beyond. That makes Read Aloud a long-term economic development program.
By supporting Read Aloud, donors make possible the recruitment and organization of our army of 1,100 weekly volunteers, intentional book distribution efforts that stress children’s book choice and ownership, and public education programs that teach families about the importance of reading together.
Ways to give to Read Aloud WV:
Give to our Annual Fund. Read Aloud West Virginia exists entirely on donations from individuals, businesses and foundations. Read Aloud supporters make everything else possible – winning grants and awards for book distribution, leveraging gifts into higher-impact projects, and collaborating with schools and other groups (see page 1). Mailing a check is still the most efficient way to give. Donors are also welcome to give here on our website.
Direct a Required Minimum Distribution from a tax-deferred account. At age 70½, the federal government requires owners of tax-deferred retirement accounts to take a minimum distribution. Have your financial institution send the disbursement directly to a charity, such as Read Aloud, and the IRS doesn’t count it as taxable income. If it is $500 or more, it may also qualify for state NIP tax credits.
Qualify for NIP tax credits. Donate $500 or more to a qualifying organization, such as Read Aloud, and receive West Virginia Neighborhood Investment Program tax credits. The credits reduce state personal income tax or corporate net income tax bills by as much as half the gift amount. They can be spread out and used over a five-year period. Donors can receive as much as $100,000 a year in NIP tax credits. Taxpayers may reduce their tax bills by no more than half. Because it is a tax credit, it lowers a tax bill whether the taxpayer itemizes or not.
If you are a Kroger customer, set your Kroger Plus card account to benefit Read Aloud West Virginia. Then, shop as usual, and every quarter, Kroger sends Read Aloud a check for a percentage of your spending. Encourage a friend or relative to sign up, too. This kind of passive income is extremely efficient for an organization.
If you shop at Amazon, go to smile.amazon.com. Designate Read Aloud as your chosen charity, and as you shop, Amazon will forward a commission to Read Aloud. You must remember to shop at smile.amazon.com for Read Aloud to benefit. Recruit a friend and double your impact.
Shop at Books-a-Million’s West Virginia stores on Saturday, Sept. 21. Save the date. When you shop at a BAM! store in Barboursville, Beckley, Bluefield, Bridgeport, Charleston, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Vienna or Wheeling on Sept. 21 and mention Read Aloud at the check-out, Books-a-Million will donate a generous percentage of your purchase to Read Aloud West Virginia.
If you’re only able to give your time right now, please visit our Get Involved page to learn more. We’re so grateful for every donation that comes in and every volunteer that shows up. It’s impossible to say it enough, but we try – thank you for all you do for WV literacy and Read Aloud WV.
We polled our chapters for some of their favorite books. Here are a few good icebreaker books to start the new school year:
The Monster at the End of this Book By Jon Stone and Michael Smollin
Grover was breaking the fourth wall before it was cool. Whatever you do, don’t turn the page. “There is a monster at the end of this book.” This was an inexpensive grocery store book back when today’s grandparents were in kindergarten. It still delights young and old.
— Ginny Dixon, Upshur County
Rosie Revere, Engineer By Andrea Beaty and David Roberts.
“This is the story of Rosie Revere, who dreamed of becoming a great engineer.” In rhyming couplets, Rosie secretly works on her wonderful gadgets.
— Amber Myers, Harrison County
Naughty Mabel By Nathan Lane and Devlin Elliott
From the first page, in a pool before a classical mansion, Mabel sets the tone: “Hello, darlings. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Mabel. Mabel of the Hamptons. And this is my humble abode.” Witty use of vocabulary, even for middle school. — Stephanie Burns, Pocahontas County
Room on the Broom By Julia Donaldson
A witch and her cat are perfectly content on their broom, until the witch starts inviting new friends along.
— Bev Mathias, Hardy County
Guys Write for Guys Read, specifically a short story called “The Follower” By Jack Gantos
Young Jack is fascinated (and too easily led) by the wild and dangerous kid next door, who, among other things, catapults himself into the next yard and rides his bike off the roof. I like to leave students laughing on the first day and hungry for more next week. This funny but cautionary tale is a discussion starter for the upper grades.
— Dawn Miller, Kanawha County
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates By Ryan T. Higgins
Preschoolers may see themselves in Penelope Rex, who wonders how many teeth her new classmates will have.
— Steph Murphy, Randolph County
It’s a Book By Lane Smith
“How do you scroll down? Do you blog with it? Can you make characters fight?” A little character peppers his reading friend with questions. Combine that with Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss, with your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet. I like to start with these.
– Casey Willson, Berkeley County
Homer Price By Robert McCloskey
First published in 1943, the funny, gentle, witty tales can still amuse. Centerburg is a place to return to, again and again. The short stories slot nicely into read aloud sessions around fourth grade.
— Lauren Jarroll, Nicholas County
The Dot By Peter H. Reynolds
A frustrated student who insists that she cannot draw finds out where just making an attempt can take her, thanks to a wise art teacher. This book speaks to a range of ages.
The ebb and flow influence of Read Aloud West Virginia is totally dependent on the volunteers willing to sacrifice an hour a week to leverage their personal literacy to support the unimaginably difficult process of motivating struggling, passive children to develop their own reading skills.
I was an elementary principal for 33 years and witnessed amazing teachers practicing a research-based pedagogy designed to produce students capable of decoding words.
The pendulum of strategies was always alternating. We embraced phonics, big books, whole language, story organizers, cloze, word families, basal texts and more.
Each had a proven success record in teaching children to read. Each failed a significant portion of children incapable of converting letters into words, words into phrases and phrases into comprehension.
So, too many of the very young were moved along, forced to apply reading strategies that were beyond their grasp. They began resenting the incessant skill and drill of wall sound cards or the robotic utterance of a phonemic cadence that meant nothing toward satisfying the gaping chasm between what they knew about applying their primitive reading skills with the written words the teachers expected them to translate.
Reading appeared to be an unrealistic goal for them. Students develop understandable reactions:
“Why bother? I’m too far behind and embarrassed that I am in the yellow bird grouping.”
“Maybe the teacher is correct. She told my parents that I’m not mature enough, and there was still time to become a student capable of not only learning to read but reading to learn.”
“I do enjoy the stories that are read to me. I imagine a magic carpet or a grinchlike meanie.”
Children want us to help motivate them to try harder! They want us to help them to overcome a hesitancy to even try to read aloud. They so enjoy hearing you read and learning about the many places, mysteries, humor and intrigue locked inside that book you hold.
Please join the cadre of volunteers whose passion is to find a book worthy of a classroom of the most precocious children mixed among the most disadvantaged readers.
Thank you for reading if you are. Thank you for planning to read if you currently aren’t.
— Steve Knighton retired as the longtime principal of Kanawha County’s Piedmont Elementary School, and is a Read Aloud supporter.
A new school year brings with it such excitement! New relationships for teachers, students and parents. A fresh start, which brings excitement and occasionally some trepidation. Our Read Aloud staff and volunteers begin the year with those same feelings.
It was no surprise to me that we began getting calls from returning readers even before the first day of school. These dedicated individuals are ready to bolt out of the starting gate. They see that we can make a difference with what seems like a simple, “nice little thing” — a regular classroom visit to share a love of reading. And yet that “nice little visit” is so much more!
In this issue, educators such as Maggie Luma (Page 1) and Steve Knighton (below) attest to the difference they know the Read Aloud experience can make for students. It is one piece of the literacy puzzle — the motivation piece — all of us need to work harder, whether it is in sports as WVU Football Coach Neal Brown noted at Read-A-Palooza (Page 6) or in the classroom.
Experiencing a “commercial for reading” and bonding with a caring human being over good literature is an experience each child deserves daily. It should be a regular part of the curriculum to build vocabulary as well as interest in books. Our volunteers deliver! They also come back year after year because they see the impact they’re making, as Bob Johnson explains.
I can recite with the best of them the litany of West Virginia’s challenges — diversify the economy, fight opioid addiction, improve our school systems. The fact is they are all interrelated. We can wring our hands and be paralyzed, OR we can do something. All important change comes with multiple small steps.
Motivating our children to work to become good readers improves their chance at school success, opens career opportunities in a variety of fields and, believe it or not, reduces their vulnerability to substance abuse. One small step — a reader in the classroom — can bring about a change in the trajectory of a child’s life and in the future of this state. Won’t you join us?
There are multiple ways you can help us continue our work. You can volunteer. You can donate. Or, you can do both!
Change does not occur overnight, but many small steps will change the literacy climate of West Virginia. Use the fresh start of the new school year to join Read Aloud in a way that works best for you. You CAN make a difference!
— Mary Kay Bond is the executive director of Read Aloud West Virginia.
As a (mostly) retired public servant, I am eager to resume my reading aloud with primary students this school year.
To say that the process is ‘rewarding’ is an understatement. I am often paid in hugs. While the classroom teachers with whom I have worked value my presence every week, it is the students of grades three, four and five who show their genuine appreciation.
A typical Thursday morning involves driving to the school and schlepping the three-ring binders of my prepared-and-rehearsed readings for the day. In the classroom, I place my binder(s) on a stand-up table or lectern and wait for enough silence to commence. I have never sat for a reading period. Call it the performer (aka ‘ham’) in me, if you will, but I believe it is impossible to read with engagement — and gestures — while seated. Call me ‘old school’ if you like.
Over the last few years, I have become an invited member of my county chapter of Read Aloud West Virginia, a vetted-and-authentic organization of volunteer readers….
Recollecting on my own experience as a primary student, now these many years ago, it was the teachers or community members who read aloud with my class and me that always fondly come to mind. What they did had impact. Learn about the affirming studies that show student improvement in classrooms in which a spoken reader participates in learning. And I can vouch that I am, without fail, warmly welcomed in every classroom.
Although what I read is likely not as important as how I engage students in a quality story, the expression of interest in their collective faces says it all. Afterward, it is not unusual for students to steal a hug on my way out of the classroom, often on the way to the next classroom in my schedule.
Yeah, I also have the gratification of teaching in an after-school program three afternoons a week, but it is ordinarily the weekly reading sessions that make it oh-so-easy for me to get up on a Thursday morning.
Don’t say, “I don’t have time” or “I’m too old” for reading aloud. I am 70 and work with a dozen organizations and community interests. Do the students — and yourself — a favor this school year. Read aloud.
— Robert Johnson, a reader, blogger, musician, music promoter/event producer, community activist and educational advocate, is a Read Aloud volunteer and chapter board member in Nicholas County. This is adapted from a blog post published at medium.com.
After third grade, more than 85 percent of the school curriculum is taught by reading, says Maggie Luma, coordinator of the West Virginia Campaign for Grade Level Reading.
“Third-grade reading is one of the highest predictors of high school graduation,” Luma told about 50 Read Aloud West Virginia volunteers at Read Aloud’s sixth annual summit at Canaan Valley State Park in July. “Eighty-eight percent of our high school dropouts were struggling readers in the third grade.”
The Campaign for Grade Level Reading’s goal is to increase the percentage of children reading proficiently by the end of third grade by 5 percentage points each year. Literacy specialists offer evidence-based help to teachers, schools and communities.
Here’s another data point: vocabulary development by age 3 predicts achievement by third grade, Luma said. So reading to babies from birth, singing, rhyming, talking and naming things with your toddler actually contributes to their school success later in life.
“Unfortunately, 74 percent of those students who are falling so behind in third grade are never going to catch up,” Luma said. “That doesn’t mean that by the end of third grade we forget about those students, but it means we really need to be thinking about prevention.”
“What is the solution?” Luma asked. “Maybe you could buy a reading program, right? We’re all looking for that magic bullet, the newest thing to come out of Pearson or Houghton Mifflin or wherever it is that is going to get all our kids reading. We’re going to put them on a computer, right? And get them all to be playing games so that they know how to read. I think if that were the case, we’d all be reading, right?
Students need a more intentional approach, she said. “Instead of buying a new program, instead of just praying a little bit harder, we could do what the research tells us.” We could use evidence-based literacy practices:
Deliver explicit instruction. That means telling students what they’re learning in words they understand. “Make the learning goal visible,” she said. “Yes, we need to develop a love for reading, but they’re not going to develop that love if they can’t decode.”
Increase practice turns and feedback. “Let’s get the students talking more. They need increased discourse,” she said. “They need to be talking about what they’re learning.” They also need a teacher on hand to give immediate feedback: “That’s wrong. This is what’s right. Let’s try it again.”
Design instruction for students’ needs, but we really need to know where the students are before we do that, she said.
Work collaboratively. “We know we have one major goal, and that’s get our kids reading by the third grade. But there are so many ways that we can get there. Our job at the Campaign for Grade Level Reading is to support teachers, to support schools and to support communities with a roadmap. Here’s what we’ve learned. Here’s what the research says, and here’s what we are going to provide supports in, so you can take what you need according to your specific data and apply it to your reading instruction.”
“I think Read Aloud West Virginia speaks to my heart because it shows children authentic reading and why they need to be readers, because it brings joy,” Luma said.
“You enjoy what you read. You learn about what you read. And I really think this needs to be our message when we are talking to students. You don’t just need to learn this to learn it. It’s because words are powerful. Words have meaning, and you can use them to change the world.
“Literacy is one of the biggest antidotes to poverty,” she said. “Literacy becomes the currency for all other learning.”
— Dawn Miller, a classroom reader in Kanawha County, is Read Aloud’s operations director.
You heard correctly, folks! Our NIP tax credits are in, and we are ready to take donations. With a donation of $500 or more, you can get a state tax break for half of the amount.
What does this mean for Read Aloud WV? Well, it means we receive more donations that help us put books in the hands of WV children, and we get to give something back to our donors (besides a heartfelt thank you!) that will help them with their state tax bill at the end of the year.
As the majority of our funding comes directly from individual donors, this can make a huge difference in the projects we’re able to implement in a year. The more our donors are able to help us now, the less we have to fundraise later in the year when our book distributions are in full-swing. This means more time spent directly coordinating with schools and volunteers to get kids the tools they need to grow their reading skills.
Interested in giving early, getting a tax break, and helping us to change the literacy climate in WV? You can donate by:
Mailing a check to Read Aloud WV, PO Box 1784, Charleston, WV 25326 (this is preferred, as there are no fees associated with your donation and we receive the full amount to put towards our programs).
Clicking the Donate button in our menu to make a secure donation through Square.
Just be sure to donate $500 or more and put NIP in the memo or notes section, depending on your payment method. We don’t have an unlimited number of credits to give out, however, so it’s a good idea to donate early to ensure you get the tax credit.
Give us a call if you have any questions at (304) 345-5212.
We’re so grateful for the generosity of all of our donors over the years. You make Read Aloud’s work possible in your communities. You help children build a love of reading that will serve them their entire lives. Thank you.
Our volunteers regularly pair books that go well together during a single read aloud sitting. Last summer, Christy Schwartz of the West Virginia Campaign for Grade Level Reading told volunteers at the Read Aloud conference that reading multiple texts on a subject helps students to improve their reading skill. Just for the fun of it, here are some of our volunteers’ listener-tested combinations:
The Bad Seed by John Jory and Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins are two charming, upbeat narratives all about teaching children about being kind and considerate to others. They pair well together with their complementary art styles and similar, silly takes on how one can be “A baaaaaaaaaad seed.” In each, the main character decides to change his ways from bad or rude and try (though they might not always succeed) to be nicer to those around them. Pre-K – 1 — Amanda Schwartz, Communications and Development Director
The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak is agreat book to pair with any book that is too short to fill your allotted time. The children ask over and over for me to re-read this book. I have read it to kindergarten and second grade and it is without question the favorite of every child. I have great fun reading it, too. — Aletta Moffett, Marion County Chapter President
Book of Animal Poetry edited by J. Patrick Lewis, U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate. The poetry is easy to understand for elementary students, the National Geographic photos are beautiful, and students learn about familiar and unfamiliar animals. The highlight is that a couple poems are rap poems (e.g., “Polar Bear Rap”) with the students participating by stomping their feet to the beat. There are always requests to do them second and third times!
A little dose of poetry gives the students something different and pairs well with other animal books. — Tom Tinder, Bridgeview Elementary, Kanawha County
Based on the undocumented notion that the boys prefer “fact” books and the girls prefer “fiction” books, I open with Bats by Elizabeth Carney, a National Geographic Kids Book, full of bat facts. I follow with Stellaluna by Janell Cannon, a beautifully illustrated story of a baby bat that gets separated from its mother and is raised by a bird family before reuniting with the bat mother. It’s a great story that comingles bat facts with bird facts. The whole class really enjoys both aspects of the reading and it makes for a good session. — Casey Willson, Gerrardstown Elementary School, Berkeley County
The Rabbit Listenedby Cory Doerrfeld, a favorite of Executive Director Mary Kay Bond. One day Taylor concentrated hard and built something amazing with his blocks. Then disaster struck. The way different characters react to little Taylor’s setback will be recognizable to everyone. I read this along with Odd Velvet by Mary Whitcomb, the story of Velvet, who is thought to be so strange in her kindergarten class because her teacher gifts and birthday party games don’t come from a store. It’s a message kids really need to hear. K-3 — Bob Pepper, Sissonville Elementary, Kanawha County
Camille and the Sunflowersby Laurence Anholt tells the story of painter Vincent Van Gogh and the postman’s family in Arles, whom Van Gogh painted, along with his famous sunflowers and Starry Night. Then we read the short rhyming bookNo One Saw by Bob Raczka, featuring a full-page example of a different artist on each page. When we get to, “No one saw stars like Vincent Van Gogh,” students are thrilled by their recognition, and usually curious about other artists in the book. 3-5– Dawn Miller, Piedmont Elementary, Kanawha County
Have a title to recommend to your fellow Read Aloud volunteers? Tell us about it: newsletter@readaloudwv.org.
If you purchase a book through one of the affiliate links on this page, Read Aloud will receive a small percentage of the proceeds. This in no way impacts our recommendations.
It’s been a little over a week since Read-A-Palooza 2019: Join Team Read, and we just wanted to take another opportunity to publicly thank those who made it all possible! This year’s event was our most successful yet and we are extremely grateful for the opportunity to bring community members together in support of Read Aloud West Virginia.
Read-A-Palooza is the only fundraising event we host each year and is vital to Read Aloud’s financial sustainability. With the support of our sponsors, donors, and supporters, we were able to meet our Read-A-Palooza fundraising goal this year and ensure that Read Aloud can continue to keep books in the hands and on the minds of West Virginia children!
This year’s event focused on creating excitement for books and reading the same way our society does for sports. In his remarks, our special guest WVU Football Coach Neal Brown beautifully connected the importance of a strong reading foundation to athletic success. With at least three media outlets in attendance and multiple stories written about the event, we’re positive that excitement was generated. We’ve made new friendships, strengthened old ones, inspired new volunteers, and heard multiple times since the event that this was our best Read-A-Palooza to date.
A special thank you to Coach Neal Brown, Coleman Barnes, and West Virginia University; to Tony Caridi, children’s book author and MetroNews sports reporter; to The University of Charleston, UC President Marty Roth, Robert Elmore of the UC Vice President’s office, and Ray Singleton of the UC Department of Education; to David Hager Photography; and to all of sponsors and silent auction donors listed below!
Signature Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
William Maxwell Davis
The Becker Family
Bronze Sponsors
Chris & Amy Panzarella
Friends of Read-A-Palooza
Juli Hatcher Mock – JH Records
Silent Auction Donors
Andrew Adkins
Base Camp Printing
Berry Hills Country Club
Bob & Tina Pepper
Bricks & Barrels
Budget Tapes & Records
Canaan Valley Resort
Capon Springs & Farms
Carnegie Hall
Cathedral Café/Southside Junction Tap House
Chef Paul Smith
Dick’s Sporting Goods
Embassy Suites
Erica Baumgrass
Fayette County Chamber of Commerce/Official Bridge Day
