THIS Jes’ Happened!
2014
At RIF HQ, we get a lot of letters and photos from RIF programs around the country. In addition to the endlessly adorable thank you notes from RIF kids, we get updates on book distributions and summaries of inspired reading events that our volunteers invent and execute all the time.
And sometimes, we get a story we just have to share.
Last month, at Monroe Intermediate in Alabama, a fourth-grader named Justin browsed his school’s RIF library for something to read. The book he chose, It Jes’ Happened, is a children’s book out of our 2014 Multicultural Collection about the life of Bill Traylor, a self-taught artist who had grown up as a slave and only began drawing after he moved at 80 years old to Montgomery, Alabama. He drew pictures of his childhood memories, of his life on the farm, of people he saw in the city, and is now considered a great American folk artist.
It’s a captivating book. An incredible, true story told simply and accompanied by colorful, evocative pictures. But something more kept Justin flipping through those pages. He’d seen the man in the pictures before, but where?
A photo in his grandmother’s home. Of all places.
On an unexpected journey through a book sitting in his school, Justin had come face to face with his great-great-great grandfather Bill. What an incredible experience!
However slim the chances, these moments happen. And we plan to keep making them happen. Take our pledge or give to RIF to support all the kids like Justin who could be traveling into the future – or making deep, deep connections to the past – with reading.
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