July was a busy month at ReadBoston! The Storymobile program visited over 40 locations each week with a professional storyteller. All children in attendance chose a new book to take home with them!
Alan White, a seasoned storyteller who has worked with us for many years, visited the Crispus Attucks Children’s Center in Dorchester. We will miss Alan as he moves out of state, but wish him well!
Tony Toledo shared a few scary stories at the Tobin Community Center in Mission Hill.
Every Tuesday morning, our Program Manager Sean Thimas rode the Book Bike over to the Rose Kennedy Greenway. This summer’s attendance was almost double the attendance from last summer. Word is spreading about the Book Bike on the Greenway!
Charlotte Dore used her skills as a puppeteer to captivate the children of East Boston.
At ReadBoston we believe it is important that children have the opportunity to select books that they identify with. Having a diverse selection of books allows kids to see themselves in the stories they read.
On Friday afternoons the children of the Sr. Mary Hart Summer Camp crowded around the book table to find the perfect book to add to their personal libraries. They really love having their book titles read to them before they decide on which book they will take.
Our Program Manager went to the Carter School in the South End to be a guest reader. The Carter School offers a school wide instructional focus of developing lessons and programs that increase each students’ ability to communicate in order to realize their potential for maximum independence and the highest possible quality of life. The students thought Sean’s reenactment of the story “Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal” was very funny. After the read aloud the staff helped the students find books on a book scavenger hunt.
Over 150 children made the weekly trek to Gertrude Howes Park in Roxbury each week. One week, storyteller Valerie Stephens shared the West African folk tale of Anansi the Spider. It was an easy commute for Valerie who lives in the neighborhood!
The Storymobile program couldn’t be run without our outstanding storytellers and our amazing community partners. We appreciate their commitment to Boston’s youngest readers!