Dawn reading in classroom

At home, school, or at the fair, readers make valuable contributions to children’s literacy

A Letter from Executive Director Dawn Miller

Twenty-some years ago when Kelly Griffith was teaching first grade, her class studied honeybees for a month.  

“Anything and all things honeybee,” she said. “I used my standards. We did research together. We tasted honey on biscuits. We studied beeswax and candles and crayons.  

“I had a beekeeper come in, and he brought them all little test tubes of honey to taste.  

“We dissected honeycombs. We watched videos.  

“And we read tons of different texts and different levels of texts about honeybees and flowers.”  

A month later the Title 1 teacher came in to “DIBEL” the kids, or to administer a common test called Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills.  

Then one day both the Title 1 teacher and an administrator walked into Griffith’s classroom with the results. “What did you do?” they asked.  

Griffith’s first graders, who had been grouped in her class because they struggled with reading, had “knocked it out of the park.”  

By happenstance, one of the passages that the kids were tested on was about honeybees.  

“That was powerful to me,” said Griffith. Now a coordinator for academic support with the West Virginia Department of Education, she co-leads the department’s “Ready. Read. Write.” initiative to improve reading skills across the state.  

To many older readers the effort will look familiar – teach children to accurately sound out words, explicitly and systematically, using data to differentiate instruction. That is a big part of it, and it is based on decades of research illuminating how the brain learns to read.  

At the same time, children must build knowledge and vocabulary with rich and fascinating texts and topics. For this knowledge-building work, everyone gets the support they need to access the same grade-level texts and topics regardless of decoding ability. That way, each child can enjoy and learn from the most interesting books and activities.  

Just as Griffith’s first graders did all those years ago.  

She wants community members and families to understand their role.  

“Little things, like activities in the car or during bathtime can actually make an impact in how your child makes connections, and the knowledge they come to school with, which is a huge predictor of being a proficient reader,” Griffith said.  

Reading aloud is an excellent way to give students opportunities to experience more challenging texts than they might be able to read on their own. Enter your classroom Read Aloud reader. Volunteers show up each week with another book or another chapter to enjoy together, full of rich vocabulary and complex ideas to explore, all while modeling reading for fun.  

Or a nightly bedtime book. Or the books parents keep in the car or stroller for unexpected waits. Or any reading habit anywhere. Walks through parks or historical sites. Trying and discussing new foods or interesting documentaries.  

“It’s not just decoding words,” Griffith said. “It’s having conversations. Digging in the dirt. Telling them what is in the dirt.  

“I want families to hear that message, because I want them to know that they have an important role in their students’ literacy. The knowledge they bring to school helps with those literacy skills, even before they start reading on their own.  

“I don’t know that I knew that even as a young teacher.” 

Throughout this newsletter, you will find communities where the message has been received. Reading role models are carrying out their important role – at the Jackson County Fair, at an event for new and expectant mothers in Raleigh County, at Women and Children’s Hospital in Kanawha County, and in Read Aloud classrooms all over the state.    

Jackson Read Aloud group photo

Story time at the county fair

Story time with Read Aloud had children glued to their books all week long at the Jackson County Fair this summer. 

Camped underneath a shady tree, sprawled out on a rug in front of their camper, or standing in the middle of the sidewalk, kids squeezed in whatever time they could to get lost in a book they enjoyed. Cheryl Miller, a volunteer with Jackson County’s Read Aloud chapter, said she was amazed by the passion for reading she saw at the fair. 

Jackson County volunteers first set up a read-along booth at the county fair in 2019, and found success. They reached dozens of children by gathering kids around a storyteller, reading to them, and singing songs, Miller said.  

Jackson County Read Aloud returned to the fair this summer. Story time was now an official event at the fair, with one hour dedicated each day. Children also browsed through the Jackson County Read Aloud booth throughout the day.  

With the help of grant funding, Jackson County Chapter President Janet McCauley said they worked the Jackson County Board of Education to purchase books and supplies. They set up a barn scene in the Exhibit Hall, where kids picked up different farm animal visors and tote bags. 

They sifted through eight large bins of books. They took all they could carry. Every book was gone by the end of the sixth and final day, Miller said.  

“The folks who remembered us from the first event were just really happy to have us back,” said Miller.  

Since kids were choosing the books themselves, they found more interest in them, and let the inspiration from accomplishment transfer to their next book. The enthusiasm for reading was present throughout the fairgrounds in Cottageville, Miller said.  

“A lot of kids and their families camped out there all week, and so they just built story time into their daily routine,” she said. 

When she wasn’t at story hour, Miller said she pulled a red wagon around to try and reach everyone. Some of the kids had to work most of the week at their family’s exhibit, so Miller wanted to ensure they were included too. 

“Jackson County is a communinty that values reading and shows it,” said Read Aloud Executive Director Dawn Miller. “More than once since that fair, I have met people who commented that their children attended story time, and they talked about how much they enjoyed it. This made a lasting impression on these famailies.” 

With the success of this year’s event, they want to come back next year. As far as outreach to children and families goes, story time at the county fair couldn’t have been a better method, Cheryl Miller said. 

“One day I was walking around, and I heard a dad say, ‘Sadie, you can read that book, but you have to wait until we get back to the camper,’” she said. “Sadie was just standing in the middle of the sidewalk, trying to read her book.” 

A friend told Miller about meeting a young child in a local hair salon a week after the fair, who refused to put a book down until she was finished. Her mother said she’d chosen it from Read Aloud’s booth.  

The girl finished her book at the salon. She grew even more excited when another woman told her the book was just the first in a wonderful series. 

“I think that children are just naturally drawn to stories, and someone who enjoys reading and telling those stories. They were caught up in the enthusiasm of the stories,” she said. “We just made it so much fun.” 

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Read Aloud helped me find my child’s reading key

By Jackie Britton

Reading has been one of my favorite hobbies since I was a child. When I found out that I was pregnant with my first baby, I went to the book store and purchased The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, along with several other stacks of children’s books. I dreamed of reading to my kids and watching their imaginations run wild. I dreamed that my children would love reading just as much as I do. Imagine my surprise when that wasn’t the case with my second son.

My first son took to books like a fish to water. My second son taught himself to read at age four and was addicted to being read stories. By the time he was five and a half, he refused to read. I bought different styles of books to try to tempt him. Countless bribes and different approaches later – nothing. I couldn’t figure him out! We were both frustrated, and I was running out of ideas to engage him.

I stumbled across Read Aloud West Virginia’s Read Aloud Families and I was cautiously optimistic. I knew my oldest and youngest children would adore it. What would my middle son think? I knew he was a going to be a good reader, but the problem was how to motivate him to care.

Solo: A Star Wars Story – Train Heist, the book that unlocked independent reading enthusiasm for Jackie Britton’s middle child, who participated in Read Aloud Families, a special distribution effort launched during the COVID shutdown.

The first order form came, and all three of my children were excited. They picked their books, and my middle child shocked me. He picked a Star Wars book. He has never seen the movies or shown any interest in Star Wars at all. I was so skeptical. I asked if he was certain he wanted that one and read a few other book descriptions to him.

No. He was positive he wanted that one.

The day the first shipment arrived, the three kids crowded around me and squealed over their new books. My oldest ran off to begin his, and I read my youngest child’s book to her and my middle son. Afterward, I watched what he would do with his new book. He curled up in a chair and began flipping through the pages.

After a little while, he started from the beginning and began to read quietly. I joined him and we took turns reading pages and continued to do the same with those first few book deliveries. Soon he was able to read them all on his own.

Every time there was a Star Wars book on the form, he would choose it. He began to choose other genres I would have never expected. The variety of the books on the order form was wonderful. He always found something to look forward to and having good experiences with these books has changed his attitude about new story lines.

Read Aloud West Virginia helped me find the key to turn my son from the most reluctant reader into an enthusiast.
Now he is engaged during Book Tastings and can’t wait for library day at school. I am so grateful!

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Bedtime Book Club carries on Snuggle and Read tradition

By Suzette Lowe

The phrase ‘the book will find the child’ holds true for the partnership of Jackson County Early Explorers and Read Aloud of Jackson County.

Cheryl Miller, a longtime Read Aloud volunteer and force behind the county’s Snuggle and Read program, has seen firsthand how impactful the experience can be for young readers.

A Jackson County student visits the Read, Play, Grow station at Cedar Lakes to get an Early Explorers book bag.

“When we were able to have that type of story time, the children picked out the book that appealed to them, one that ‘found’ them that they could take home, along with a blanket provided by Constellium,” she said. “It was so precious seeing that connection.”

It was frustrating not being able to have that family reading time with children and their parents during the pandemic. Miller, who co-founded Jackson County Early Explorers with Jessica Isner, also saw the hugely popular Early Explorers program for young children struggling to be active during COVID-19.

“One day, I had a preschooler come up to me, out of the blue, and beg me to read him a story,” said Miller. “I knew right then, and Jessica agreed, that we had to do something to meet this need.”

A natural collaboration between the county’s Read Aloud program and Early Explorers was formed, initially with books that were left over from a past Snuggle and Read. These, along with a blanket, would be put in book bags for children to find at the Read, Play, and Grow station at Cedar Lakes.

“With our mission and knowing how popular Early Explorers past book bag distributions were,” said Janet McCauley, president of the local Read Aloud board, “it was a win-win partnership.”

McCauley said the concern that children would not get ‘their’ book was quickly dispelled.

“The very first child who picked up a packet said ‘oh that’s just what I wanted’, so we knew we’d done our job,” she said.

But still for Miller there was something missing.

“I had another child come up and grab me by the legs and beg for a story,” she said. “It hurt my heart that I couldn’t do that.”

Miller said she couldn’t get the idea of children not getting their bedtime story out of her mind.

“In this pandemic, we forget that children are hurting and feeling stressed,” she said. “They need a time to settle down and feel loved and safe.”

That child hungering for a story planted the seed for Bedtime Book Club.

Each Monday at 6 pm, Miller posts a story time on Facebook. It can be accessed at any time by going on to the Jackson County Early Explorers or Read Aloud Jackson County page.

“First we get the wiggles out, then settle down for three stories.” Miller said.

The “Story Lady” as Miller has been dubbed, has already gotten a large following, including a grumpy cat who comes out of hiding every time he hears her voice.

Knowing that children look forward to each week’s story means so much to Miller.

“I had a little girl come up to me just to share how much she loved the little duck story I read the other night,” she said. McCauley said parents have also expressed their appreciation for the efforts of both Early Explorers and Read Aloud.

“They tell us that their children are hurrying in from outside play to read their books,” she said. “Several have said they hear their children singing or reciting phrases from their favorite stories.”

For Miller and McCauley, that’s what it’s all about, connecting children to books and instilling a love that can last a lifetime.

Suzette Lowe serves on the Read Aloud of Jackson County board

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Help children to fill their ‘volume’

A letter from the Executive Director, Dawn Miller

When schools sent students home for remote learning this spring, my mind immediately went to a 1951 Isaac Asimov short story The Fun They Had. I won’t ruin it for you. Just know that it is set in a future where kids are taught at home by a “mechanical teacher.”

We turn to stories for comfort in times of stress and challenge. Looking for help, our minds riffle through a lifetime of lessons, including those we “experienced” in books. The week before schools closed, I could not have recalled that story. But there it was, waiting in my head when the situation arose.

That well of experiences is filled over a lifetime. Volume matters.

Asimov was not the only past-read that has offered insight for the times we’re managing now. Here are a few things I have been reading (and rereading):

  • The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller is the story of how a sixth-grade Texas reading teacher requires students to read 40 books in the school year, and offers all kinds of choice and help for students so they find books they enjoy. Then she watches their confidence, grades and test scores rise.
  • Reading in the Wild, also by Donalyn Miller, is her follow up on efforts to raise “wild” readers, or those who read because they are motivated from the inside, not because a teacher or parent is nagging, grading, rewarding or punishing them.
  • Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina and Passion in Adolescent Readers by Penny Kittle is the advice of a then-high school (now college) instructor who echoes that volume matters. Children, and then adolescents, and then adults develop those very qualities — depth, stamina and passion. It takes volume, which is possible if students find books they enjoy.
  • How Humans Learn by Joshua Eyeler informs on that precise subject. The most relevant chapter at the moment is the one that says anxiety turns learning off.

Students, like all of us, are learning things, whether consciously or not. If children are reading or hearing books they enjoy, they are learning words and facts. This certainly helps them to read better on their own, or when they must read something they don’t particularly enjoy.

Children exposed to at least one book every day also learn how language works, how it fits together, which helps them to write better when it is their turn. They learn empathy; and social and emotional maturity are factors in school success. But children, like adults, also store up insights and lessons. If they read regularly and hear books read aloud, they fill a well of wisdom they don’t even know they possess. But it will surface when they need it, like the Room of Requirement.

That well is filled a little every day. As with compound interest or growing a tree, time is an indispensable ingredient. So, if there are children around, and your family doesn’t have a reading habit, now is the time. Every day matters. Little kids, big kids, grandkids, it is not too late to start. Reading will look different for different ages and families. That’s OK.

Take it from Mary Kay Bond and Sara Busse. I love that interview for the permission to not be perfect. Don’t think reading or reading aloud really looks like a carefully posed Pinterest shot. It usually doesn’t.

No one knows exactly how the fall semester will go, but it will go differently in different places. Some days, if all that parents, teachers and volunteers can manage safely and angst-free is reading to the children in their lives, or helping them to find books they enjoy, then everyone will be on task and making progress. Research shows reading for pleasure is the most effective way for students to prevent learning loss when school is out. Just as importantly, those students will be adding to their lifetime volume of experiences to draw on some day.

That moment of need could be coping with a pandemic. Or it could be a school writing assignment. It could be navigating a death in the family, or it could be navigating a job opportunity.

Students are soaking up knowledge about something every day. Sometimes, as with me and Asimov, they won’t even know they are carrying the lesson until they need it. Then it will just be there. But only if their wells have been diligently filled in advance.

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Is yours a reading household?

Here’s a checklist to build — or strengthen — your family’s reading habits

By Dawn Miller

Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, writes that habits have three parts – a cue, a routine and a reward. Something cues us. We perform the routine, and then comes the reward, which may be just a chemical reaction in the brain that feels like pleasure. But the next time we get that cue, we are likely to perform the same routine.

Alex’s bookshelf is in the corner of the family room.
Read Aloud supporter Matt Schwartz reads grandson Alex a bedtime story.

Does your family have reading habits? Experience the pleasure and build yours with this checklist of cues and routines:

  • Books – some we own, some from the library. Children cannot form a reading habit without books.
  • A place for books. It can be a low shelf that children can reach. It can be a box, basket or bin, but they must be handy and in sight (not tucked away out of reach).
  • Light, the right light. Be honest. Is the on switch easy to reach? If it isn’t, you’ll resist turning it on and getting started. Does it glare and hurt your eyes? Is it too dim to see well? If it is a hassle or uncomfortable, it will interfere with building your reading habits.
  • Comfortable spot, with room for two or three, or even more. Plus other places where children can read on their own, where they can be free of the TV or computer screens long enough to get pulled into a book.
  • Time — a set time. Set a reminder if necessary until it becomes a habit. Look for reading cues that fit in your day and into children’s rhythms. Before bed works for a lot of people. During a bath? After a bath? After dinner? First thing in the morning?
  • Screens off. Devices away. Make a quiet space for the imagination to take over during a regular time that works for your family, and the cue-routine-reward pattern will have a chance to take hold.

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‘Trust your instincts’

Advice from Read Aloud pros Mary Kay Bond and Sara Busse

By Kristen Lefevers

With schools closed or uncertain, this is a wonderful opportunity for parents to read aloud to their kids. However, if your kids seem more interested in their toys than story time, or if you’re not used to read aloud, then it can feel uncomfortable. But don’t worry—we have some tips from two read aloud veterans.

“Parents and grandparents need to remember they are really important to the children in their care, and what they say matters,” says Mary Kay Bond, a Read Aloud West Virginia founder and former Executive Director. “The sheer act of picking a book and reading it says ‘I love you’ to the child. When children hear a word, especially in a loving setting, they build their vocabulary toolbox, which is the foundation on which their education is built. Just hearing the words is important.”

Sara Busse, another founding member of Read Aloud and longtime volunteer, said something similar. “Children might not understand the whole story, but they’re hearing well-prepared sentences and vocabulary.” She also talked about how important it is for parents to show themselves some grace. When it comes to read aloud, she said, “Don’t press it. Don’t push it. If it’s not working, close the book, and come back to it later. Or if it’s the book itself that isn’t working, pick another book, and don’t feel guilty about it.”

Mary Kay Bond reads aloud to children at a Snuggle & Read event.

If you’re wondering about the ideal time or place to read to your kids, “bedtime is a good time,” Mary Kay said. “They’re winding down then.”

“Read to them in weird places,” Sara said. “Read to them in the bathtub. It’s a good place, because they’re stuck there.” She used to play a game with her children. Everyone would sit around the kitchen table with a die and a book. If the die landed on an odd number, whoever had the book passed it to the person on the left, who would then read a page before rolling again; and if it landed on an even number, they passed it to the person on the right.

What should you do if your kids still don’t seem interested in read aloud right now?

“We’re all trying to maintain a sense of normalcy, but there’s really no normal right now,” Sara said. “If the kids are getting too much screen time, it’s okay.” She said that parents might have to let the extreme be the normal for right now.

Mary Kay suggested finding something that your child is interested in and then reading about it with them. If your child is interested in baking, for example, you could read a cookbook and bake a cake together. This works especially well for older kids, she said, and teaches them that they can get information from reading.

“But don’t think that every book has to have activities,” she added. Sometimes kids, and adults, too, just need to get lost in a story.

“Trust your instincts when you’re reading one-on-one with a child who knows and loves you,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to be a little silly. Make voices, make animals sounds. You want to make it fun.”

It’s easy for both kids and adults to feel anxious right now, but Sara says read aloud can help. It helped her family after 9/11.

“My kids were younger then. We turned off the TV and read more. There’s something to be said about laughing through a silly book, or even crying through a serious one like Old Yeller,” she said.

The final piece of advice? Let the kids choose, and don’t be surprised if they pick one that seems below their reading level.

“I would encourage people to let children choose the books they want to hear. Choice is empowering,” Mary Kay said.

She also shared a story that a mother shared with her a few years back.

“Her daughter was 15 or 16,” Mary Kay said. “She’d had a bad day at school, and when she came home, she asked her mother to read to her for the first time in a long time. And even though she was in high school, she picked a Strawberry Shortcake book.”

She said it’s important that parents don’t discourage their kids if they choose a book that seems below their reading level. Like the woman’s daughter in the story above, your child may simply associate that book with good memories. And those memories can be very comforting in this uncertain time.

Kristen Lefevers, of Gilbert, Mingo County, is a graduate of the University of Charleston.

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10 to Try: West Virginia Day

West Virginia Day celebrates the anniversary of West Virginia joining the Union and becoming its own state, separate from Virginia, in 1863. In celebration of our state’s founding, we collected a list of children’s books featuring the mountain state and its many stellar authors. We enjoyed putting these together so much that this 10 to Try actually features twelve great books because we just couldn’t narrow it down to ten. Enjoy!

When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant (Grades K to 3)

An evocative and eloquent tribute to growing up in rural Appalachia.

— Suzanne Wood, Fayette County


From Miss Ida’s Porch by Sandra Belton (Grades 3 and up)

A Raleigh County native, Sandra Belton paints a picture familiar to West Virginians, the very best time of day, evenings on the porch. In her warm, conversational way, she lets readers sit alongside the kids in the story to hear their old-timers talk about life before the Civil Rights movement, and after.  


More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby (Grades 1 to 5)

This is the story of Booker T. Washington who would write “Up From Slavery” as an adult. In this story he is a child laboring at the salt works and struggling to teach himself what he wants to know “more than anything else.” Beautifully illustrated by Chris Soentpiet.


The King of Little Things by Bil Lepp (Grades K to 5)

Champion West Virginia storyteller Bil Lepp can make almost anyone sound good with his rhythmic rhymes, telling the story of a modest little king and the unsung odds and ends that stick up for him. It is wonderfully silly and subtle.


Panther Mountain: Lydia’s Story by Christy Perry Tuohey (Grades 5 to 8)

I would highly recommend Panther Mountain: Lydia’s Story by Christy Perry Tuohey. The book deals with the area that would become the state of West Virginia and includes several local references such as Gauley Bridge and Summersville. I purchased the book last fall with the hope of reading it to the Fifth Graders at Fayetteville Prek-8. 

— Janice Wiseman, Fayette County  


Passing the Music Down by Sarah Sullivan (pre-K to adult)

There may be no Vandalia Gathering this year, but you can enjoy a lyrical story, inspired by the tradition of passing the music down to each generation. Any age can find something to appreciate here.


Where, Oh Where, Oh Where, Could We Go? by Tony Caridi (Ages 3+)

Travel across the mountain state touring popular locations and learning to identify the unique WV shape hidden on each page in this rhyming, fast-paced adventure.

— Jeremy Crites, Putnam County


No Star Nights by Anna Smucker (Grades 2 to 5)

The author remembers growing up in Weirton, when smoke from the steel mills blocked the night sky. 


Golden Delicious: A Cinderella Apple Story by Anna Smucker (Grades 3 to 5)

I read this to preschoolers and they enjoyed that West Virginia was highlighted in the book, and they also enjoyed their golden delicious apples from Clay County.

— Deb Blakeman, Kanawha County


John Henry by Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney (Grade PreK to 3)

There are several books about John Henry, the legendary West Virginia man who challenged a new steam-powered tool to stop it from taking the men’s jobs. This one draws details from several versions passed down over the years, highlighting the aspirations of the men.


Mountain Christmas by Marc Harshman (Grades K to 3)

Track Santa on his way to West Virginia with state Poet Laureate Marc Harshman.


West Virginia: A History by John Alexander Williams (middle school to adult)

Each of seven chapters stands alone as a readable, discussion-prompting story for middle school students or older. Each takes on a problem or topic in West Virginia history. Visit Point Pleasant, Harpers Ferry, Droop Mountain, Tug Fork, Paint Creek, Hawks Nest or Buffalo Creek.


The majority of the links above will route you to the online store of Charleston’s Taylor Books. You can still have your books sent to you, as with most online retailers, and your purchase will benefit a West Virginia small business and help to keep local bookstores open!

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10 to Try: Juneteenth

Juneteenth is the anniversary of June 19, 1865 when the news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached the enslaved people of Texas, the last state to get the news. We decided to celebrate this Juneteenth by collecting a list of book recommendations from our volunteer classroom readers and supporters.

Our readers know the importance of exposing children to diverse texts. It helps every child find books with characters that look like them and their communities, but it also ensures that children are exposed to new cultures, ideas, and experiences that will help them become more accepting, empathetic adults. That’s why it’s important for books like these to be staples in your library all year long, not just today.


Nobody Owns the Sky: The Story of “Brave Bessie” Coleman by Reeve Lindbergh (Grades 2 and up)

Every year I read this book about “Brave Bessie” Coleman to my school group to let them know that with persistence, dreams are possible. Bessie Coleman became the first licensed African-American aviator in the world.

— Jeannie Plumley, Kanawha County


Jackie & Me (Baseball Card Adventures) by Dan Gutman (Grades 4-6)

— Helen Herlocker, Morgan County


Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson by Katherine Johnson (Grades 4-6)

I read the Jackie Robinson book to 6th graders at PawPaw Elementary (they loved it so much that I read it again to the following year’s class) and I’m planning to read the Katherine Johnson autobiography in the fall. Both are particularly relevant to our current Black Lives Matter national issue.

— Helen Herlocker, Morgan County


Juneteenth For Mazie by Floyd Cooper (Grades 1-4)

The illustrations were beautifully done. We enjoyed how the importance of Juneteenth was translated into a way children could understand it. It was done in such a way that I was able to open up with my children about how the history of Mazie’s family was different than our own. It allowed them to sympathize with a social issue by sympathizing with another child. It helped them to grasp the benefits they have that others did/do not.

— Nicole Walls, Marion County


We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices edited by Wade Hudson & Cheryl Willis Hudson (Grades 3-7)

What do we tell our children when the world seems bleak, and prejudice and racism run rampant? With 96 lavishly designed pages of original art and prose, fifty diverse creators lend voice to young activists.

— Caitlin Gaffin, Kanawha County


Zoey & Sassafras series by Asia Citro (Grades 1-5)

— Tess Jackson, Putnam


Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol series by Andres Miedoso (Grades K-4)

Both “Zoey and Sassafras” and “Desmond Cole” feature people of color as main characters without the narrative being based around race. Zoey and her cute cat Sassafras use the scientific method to care for mythical creatures. Desmond and his best pal, Andres, investigate paranormal happenings.

— Tess Jackson, Putnam County


Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor (Grades 6 and up)

This book poignantly tells the story of how 9-year old Cassie Logan and her close-knit family face violence and racism during the depression era. I read this book to my high school seniors and they loved it. A great book to read aloud!

— Meg Ashby, Nicholas County


New Kid by Jerry Craft (Grades 5-8)

I suggest you search the Corretta Scott King Book Awards Web Site for many wonderful books with their descriptions for all ages. This is a valuable resource any time of the year. Why wait for Juneteenth for diversity?

— Ghee Gossard, Kanawha County


What Color is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Raymond Obstfeld (Grades 3-7)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, basketball legend and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, champions a lineup of little-known African-American inventors in this lively, kid-friendly book. Offering profiles with fast facts and framed by a funny contemporary story featuring two feisty twins, here is a tribute to black inventors whose ingenuity and perseverance against great odds made our world safer, better, and brighter.

— Peshka Calloway and her 9-year-old son


The links above will route you to the online store of Charleston’s Taylor Books. You can still have your books sent to you, as with most online retailers, and your purchase will benefit a West Virginia small business and help to keep local bookstores open!

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Reading nourishes kids, family while schools are closed

By Dawn Miller

Originally published as an op-ed in The Charleston Gazette Mail.

Worried about your child’s education while schools are closed? Here is some good news: If all you can do some days is read with your kids, you are doing great things.

We have known forever that reading to children improves their vocabulary. That’s not even half of it.

When we read to children, a lot of other cool science stuff happens. Some of it we can’t even see, and it wasn’t so well understood even a generation ago.

Starting with babies: When we read, sing and talk to babies, their brains literally form networks that prepare them to start reading by age 6 or so. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Dr. John S. Hutton, a pediatrician in Cincinnati, has recorded the effect on children’s brain scans.

The gist is, we are born with brain networks ready to learn certain things — to see and speak, for example. We have no ready-made brain network prepared to figure out the word c-a-t.

But as we read to children, show them the pictures, let them think and talk about what happens in the story and relate it to their own experience, the human brain organizes itself to do that task more efficiently next time. The more we do it, the more the brain insulates and strengthens these networks.

By the time children skip into kindergarten and first grade, all that reading instruction at school falls on very fertile ground. Children blossom into readers.

This is a turning point in their lives. Children who can read well tend to get better grades and test scores throughout school. They go further in school, are less likely to get in trouble with the law and have higher lifetime earnings. They even enjoy better health outcomes as adults.

Like I said, a turning point.

Even after children can read well on their own, they still benefit from being read to. First, they gain fluency by hearing good readers. If they have a chance to follow along, they can make even greater gains.

Second, children can hear and understand stories that are too difficult for them to read comfortably on their own. The experience draws them further along, toward more difficult texts, and they grow ever more skilled, and knowledgeable.

And then, there are the other benefits. Anyone at home feeling anxious? Worried? Acting out? A soothing solution is to slow down and share a story.

At the Children’s Hospital at West Virginia University, thanks to exceptional teacher Katie Ridenour, Read Aloud helped organize medical students to read to patients. The idea is to keep as much normalcy in their lives as possible, and to keep up with their education.

When we asked how it was going, there were several benefits, but we heard one anecdote we cannot forget. As a medical student read to an infant who had a very rapid heartbeat, the baby’s heart rate slowed to a relaxed pace.

If that happens to a very young, ill child connected to monitors that capture this information, how might it affect the rest of us who don’t have sensors and readouts to tell us?

Our classroom volunteers frequently say their Read Aloud time is the “highlight” of their week, the same word, from many volunteers, independently, over many years.

I can attest to that. Countless times, I had a rough day at work in the newsroom but, at the appointed hour, I dropped everything and showed up in class, book in hand. And I always came away refreshed. Relaxed. Refocused. In perspective. I would miss lunch, if necessary, but not that Read Aloud time. I joked then that it was like I had stepped out and petted a cat.

It may not have been a joke. An oft-cited 2009 report from the University of Sussex concluded that as little as six minutes of reading (for pleasure) reduced stress by 68%, better than anything else.

We’ve heard it from students, too.

“This is my favorite time of week,” a fourth-grader sighed to me one day when I arrived. “Mine, too,” I answered.

When we read to children, we all get to walk around in someone else’s shoes for a while. Sometimes, that is called perspective taking. It improves our social cognition, the ability to understand what others are thinking and feeling.

And social and emotional maturity is important for learning and for school success.

“The processes by which we regulate our emotions begin to develop when we are children. As we become adults, the framework put in place when we are younger becomes increasingly vital for successful learning to occur,” writes Joshua R. Eyler in “How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Teaching.”

Cognition and emotion work together. When we are unable to regulate our emotions, it disrupts our other brain activity, no matter how good the teaching is.

“Simply put: overwhelming emotions have a negative effect on learning,” Eyler writes.

Which brings us back to education and how we are all going to weather the coming weeks and months.

Relax. If all you can manage to do with your children while schools are closed is to read to them for half an hour a day, you will do more for them than either of you may realize.

Read what your family enjoys together. Start with five minutes, if that is all you can manage. Stop while you are still having fun. Go where your children’s curiosity takes you. Come back to it every day. I promise, we are all learning.