To celebrate the upcoming birthday of the iconic children’s book legend, Dr. Seuss, we polled our supporters to find out their favorite Seuss books. Here are their top 10 picks!
Fall in Love with Reading this Valentine’s Day
Check out these book recommendations for Valentine’s Day!
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli. Mr. Hatch “keeps to himself.” That’s what everybody says. Then one day he gets a surprise package, and a note: “Somebody loves you.” Good for kindergarten through third grade.
Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. Who has left an anonymous note for Nate’s dog Sludge: “I love you, Sludge, more than fudge”? Kindergarten and first graders can puzzle out the answer alongside Detective Nate the Great.
Looking at Lincoln by Maira Kalman. OK, not a Valentine’s book, but one for the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, who, among other accomplishments, signed West Virginia into existence. The book is a short, readable biography, but also a thoughtful look at the places Lincoln’s image appears in today’s world. Enjoyable throughout elementary school.
Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda. Famous pop-up picture book artist Robert Sabuda, who appeared at the 2015 West Virginia Book Festival, created paper mosaics to evoke third-century Rome in his story of the original St. Valentine, a healer who sent a secret message to a little girl. Good non-fiction for upper elementary.
UPS Store Inc. awards Read Aloud WV $10,000 worth of books
- Read the Charleston Gazette-Mail story
- View the WOWK-TV 13 broadcast
The UPS Store, Inc. named Read Aloud West Virginia as one of 10 non-profit organizations across the country to each receive $10,000 worth of books to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Toys for Tots® Literacy Program, which promotes children’s literacy in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the United States.
The UPS Store, Inc. will donate $10,000 worth of books from Scholastic.
The UPS Store, Inc. invited the public to nominate qualifying charitable and philanthropic groups, receiving over 1,000 submissions. Kanawha County volunteer Lesley McCallister nominated Read Aloud.
A selection committee reviewed all nominations and chose the 10 recipients based on their mission to serving children in underserved communities, especially by providing educational resources and enrichment.
Letter: Smiles, hugs and thanks
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 th
e 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
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.
Resolve to Read
Demand is growing. We have more than 400 classrooms across West Virginia who want a Read Aloud reader but don’t yet have one. Can you, your workplace or your organization help us meet that demand to motivate children to WANT to read?
Moments of kindness — My Read Aloud story
Read Aloud volunteers see children engage with books and expand their vocabularies and literacy skills, and so much more.
10 to Try: Poetry (Yes, poetry. Kids love it.)
In keeping with Kwame Alexander’s recommendation that poetry can often draw young people into enjoying books, our volunteers have compiled some favorites:
Our Annual Fund update: Why we ask
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 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.