“You can’t be a writer without reading. It’d be like trying to be a chef without ever eating.”—George Ella Lyon

An audience of 65 5th-grade students were treated to the wit and wisdom of author and poet George Ella Lyon today at DC Prep’s Edgewood Middle Campus.

Lyon’s book “All the Water in the World” is featured in RIF’s Multicultural Book Collection, which was also provided to the school. And instead of reading the children her book, Lyon (who is also a singer and songwriter) sang them the book, with the kids leading the chorus.

Lyon talked a lot about the experiences she had as a child and how they led her to becoming a writer, encouraging them to share their own stories with the world. She showed the kids her writing notebooks. And she answered some great questions from a very engaged and gracious crowd.

Then, in true RIF style, students got to pick two books from a large selection of titles. (Nancy Drew and Wayside School books were a big hit.) They wrote their names in their books, sent us off with a big “THANK YOU!” and headed back to their classrooms, with books and summer reading activities in hand.

The event was all part of our partnership this year with the Junior League of Washington (JLW), which reached 6,500 other students in D.C. this week, all taking home two books of their own.  Throughout the year, RIF and JLW have given out more than 33,000 books to kids in underserved communities.  Talk about book people uniting!

Involved with community organization like the Junior League, Lions Club or Kiwanis Club and looking to get involved with RIF in your area? Contact Jennifer Katz, RIF’s director of government relations & community outreach, to learn more.

Basketball legend and children’s book author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joined RIF in giving the kids of Amidon-Bowen Elementary the gift of reading with their very own copy of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE —and a special reading of the book by Kareem.

Amidon-Bowen holds a special spot in RIF’s heart – as it’s home to the very first RIF program. The school was also presented with RIF’s Multicultural Book Collection, in recognition of Margaret McNamara, RIF’s founder, and Barbara Atkinson, RIF’s first programs director. And thanks to the generosity of longtime board member and daughter of RIF’s founder, Margaret McNamara Pastor, the school is just one of 27 DC-based RIF programs to receive the Collection.

Seeing the smiles on faces of the kids and teachers as they received their books was a perfect way to end our wild rumpus.

Check out our Flickr album for more photos from the distribution!

Keep the wild rumpus going. Download our “Where The Wild Things Are” activity sheet for your kids.

Help kids in need get a book of their own. Learn how: https://secure2.convio.net/rif/site/Donation2?df_id=2432&2432.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=n1idgjrhk2.app202a

Photo: Left, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Right, Kaya Henderson, Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools (Kevin Wolf/AP Images for Reading Is Fundamental)

Dr. Bailey’s program serves primarily Spanish-speaking children, and one little girl stands out in his memory.

“Last year, this first-grade girl received her RIF books and you could tell reading in English was a challenge for her. Well, she spent all summer with her RIF books. This fall, she sought me out at her RIF distribution. She said, ‘Can I read this one to you?’ And she read like she never had any problems. The transformation was remarkable. She was so proud of her progress.”

Were it not for Dr. Bailey – and the kindness of strangers – that may have been her last book.

With the loss of a federal grant that supplied books to Dr. Bailey’s program each year, it looked like that distribution was the school’s last. But Dr. Bailey wasn’t going without a fight.

“I called the local media and talked to them about what we’d been doing for the last almost two decades, about how children who didn’t have books at home were being given books through RIF,” he explained. “We got a great write-up in the local paper. It wasn’t long until I heard from a couple in town who clearly understand the value of books in a child’s life. They asked how much it would take to keep the program running. And they wrote a check.”

Dr. Bailey, who is a Professor of Education at Pacific University, then worked with the university to set up a fund for the program. Some of his colleagues also donated, with one fellow faculty member setting up a monthly donation.

“The community of Forest Grove Oregon really rallied behind us,” said Dr. Bailey. “It’s always been about supporting children’s literacy. To place a book in a child’s hands, it can change their lives.”

Interested in supporting Reading Is Fundamental through monthly donations? Visit www.rif.org/monthly.

Photo Source: Michal Thompson/Forest Grove Leader

We had an incredible time in Austin last week, celebrating books with Reading Is Fundamental friends and volunteers.

We kicked off the trip with a wonderful discussion of the book “Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers.” Lynda Johnson Robb, a founding board member of RIF, shared her mother’s legacy along with Kathi Appelt and Joy Fisher Hein, who wrote and illustrated the book.

Luci Baines Johnson also praised Lynda’s longtime support of RIF, sharing an especially touching story about their mother as a child.

Miss Lady Bird lost her mother at an early age.  One day, her daddy, seeing she was sad, asked what he could do to help. She said, “No daddy, you can’t help. It’s OK.”

He pressed her more, asking if he could at least try. The child said, “Oh daddy, no, you can’t help. It’s just that I miss momma so much. And momma used to read to me. I really miss momma and reading.”

Her father responded, “Well, honey, I can read to you.”

The child stopped, shocked, and said with surprise, “Daddy, you can read?”

Even at that young age, Miss Lady Bird couldn’t understand why someone who could read wouldn’t be reading all the time.

The legacy of the Johnson family is large in Austin and it was at the LBJ Library that the next event was held. At a Book People Unite celebration, families met authors Chris Barton, Cynthia Leitich Smith and Tim Tingle, who all have books in RIF’s Multicultural Book Collections. Curious George joined the festivities, as did Kay Gooch, one of RIF’s Volunteer of the Year Award recipients. Parents and kids from Kay’s school, Gullett Elementary, and the families from the Book Spring program, which runs the RIF program in the city, had a great time.

The trip was capped off with a very special book distribution at Campbell Elementary School, a school where 94 percent of the children come from economically disadvantaged homes. Children were treated to a special “trip” where they boarded a magical cardboard airplane – complete with window seats and belt buckles – took a flight to pick out their books. Librarian Sherry Rojas and Book Spring’s Jill Gonzalez made it a memorable adventure for the children – and for the RIF staff in who joined them on their journey.

The entire trip was made possible thanks to RIF’s longtime partnership with Macy’s. Stay tuned for ways you can support our partnership this summer!

Photo, left to right: Kay Gooch, Kathi Appelt, Lynda Johnson Robb, Joy Fisher Hein; photo by: Jack Plunkett/AP Images for Reading Is Fundamental