Chapter Eight: August News from Madison Reading Project
We’re in full Back to School mode which is one of our favorite times of the year! We’ve been having a fun time at all of the local back to school celebrations getting kids excited about the upcoming year! We’re so fortunate to have such amazing community partners working together to support kids, families and teachers.
Our Year-to-Date Impact
Books given: 63,320
Kids impacted: 44,234
Our Impact Since 2014
Books given: 440,672
Kids impacted: 264,209
Last week we hosted our Back to School Book Fair for teachers who applied to our Books for Educators program. We gave 17,806 brand new books to 503 teachers in 5 days!
If you want to get involved in our Back to School excitement and sharing the joy of literacy with kids and teachers, check out our website for more information!
We’ve been having an incredible time at local back to school events. We gave over 1,000 books to kids at the100 Black Men of Dane County’s Back to School Celebration, an event that has been held for local families for over 25 years! We’ve also partnered with Boys & Girls Club of Dane County, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County, 93.1 Jamz, the 15th annual Back 2 School Free Haircutz hosted by JP Hair Design, Inc and many more!
Breakfast with the Bus Open House
Our first open house in our new and updated space was a lot of fun! The entire MRP team was there with board members and volunteers to showcase our space, our programs and our book bus! Check out our Instagram for more photos of the special morning.
Back to School Resources for Educators
Name activities can be so powerful during the first week of school. We love this activity from Paula Liz, one of the authors of the new book, Anti-Racist Art Activities for Kids.
View the quick 4 minute tutorial here: Teach Us Your Name: Turn Your Name Into a Work of Art
Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off September 15! This book list is an amazing resource and has picture books, middle grade, and YA recommended books by LatinX-/E voices.
Join the 2023 Latinx Kidlit Book festival LIVE from your classroom, library or home for FESTIVAL FRIDAYS starting September 22nd through October 13th!
This free program features live chats with Latinx creators as well as storytimes and discussions for kids of all ages. View the schedule here.
On Tuesday, September 26, you can join the author and illustrator team behind the much loved book, Mi Papi Has a Motorcycle, for a read along and draw along! Register for free here and share with your students and families!
September Book List Recommendations:
Don’t miss our most up-to-date list of books to read during the first few weeks of school. You can also check out some of our posts about building a classroom community and using books to facilitate conversations around identity.
Lee & Low Publishing just shared this School Year Calendar that includes book recommendations for each month of the year. Print this out and keep on hand - it's a super easy way to incorporate a variety of voices into your classroom!
