Reading can bring people together. While there is a lot of excellent information
about reading to children available on the World Wide Web, searching and surfing
don’t measure up to talking directly with a librarian about your family’s reading
needs or meeting an author at a book festival. Sharing the joys of reading can be
a great social experience. Use the resources below to find real world links to your
local literacy community.
Reading connections in your neighborhood
Your local community of readers may be just a click of the mouse away. Try these
links to locate organizations, programs and events to support your read aloud activities.
As affiliates of The Center for the
Book in the Library of Congress,
these State Centers carry out the national Center's mission in their local areas,
sponsor programs that highlight their area's literary heritage and call attention
to the importance of books, reading, literacy and libraries.
America's Literacy Directory (ALD) can help you find local literacy program providers
in all 50 states and the U.S. territories. The ALD includes literacy programs for
adults, children, and families.
Brought to you by The Center for
the Book in the Library of Congress,
this list shares the many book festivals, book fairs and storytelling events held
in states, counties and cities around the country.
Parents as Teachers
is an evidence-based home visiting program that helps boost parent knowledge of
early childhood development, provides early detection of developmental delays and
health issues and increases children's school readiness and school success.
Working through a national network of educational, non-profit, and community organizations
across the country, Raising
A Reader circulates quality children’s books into homes and helps children
and families make sharing those books a lifelong habit.
Spotlight on local reading programs
Here are some great examples of state-wide reading programs operating at the community
level. Similar programs may be taking place in your own state. Check with your State Center
for the Book or
State Humanities Council to find out. If there’s a program in your community
that you’d like to see in the Read it LOUD! spotlight, please send details to info@readitloudfoundation.org.
To emphasize the importance of families reading together, Prime Time Family Reading
Time was created in 1991 by the Louisiana
Endowment for the Humanities. This statewide family literacy program supports
future learning by empowering parents to help their children enjoy reading and improve
their reading abilities through a unique six to eight-week humanities-based program of reading, discussion,
and storytelling at public libraries and other venues.
The “Read Aloud Communities” program is an initiative of Read Aloud Nebraska, a nonprofit organization whose mission
is to promote healthy, successful children and families through reading aloud. Read
Aloud Communities promote November’s “Read Aloud to a Child Month” as well as engage
in a variety of readaloud activities throughout the year.
The One Book, Every Young Child program goes beyond giving parents and caregivers
a book to read to preschoolers. The program helps adults find ways to engage children
in activities like talking about books and provides them with opportunities to read
aloud and share books, stories and related activities with preschoolers.
Photo source: Morris County Library (Flickr-Creative Commons)