Team Up To Read Is Building Stronger Readers

"I learned that books are fun!" That's what a 6-year-old who attended the new Team Up To Read program said, and it's our favorite kind of feedback. We're happy to hear about kids who figure out how to decipher tricky words, or guardians who do our activities at home with their children. But when a child actually begins to enjoy reading, we know the program is making a difference.

Team Up To Read, a free program supported by generous funding from the Altman Foundation, just started its second session (see program dates, times, and locations, and learn about a raffle to win Nets tickets). Around the time we started planning the curriculum earlier this year, author Jacqueline Woodson was named the 2018 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress. It couldn’t have happened at a better moment. The four-time Newbery Honor Medalist and Coretta Scott King Book Award winner was already an inspiration to us, but in interviews following the new recognition, she reaffirmed one of our guiding ideals: For kids to become stronger readers, they have to learn to love reading.

"First and foremost, young people should be passionate about reading," Woodson told Education Week.

That's our goal with Team Up To Read. The program is led by experienced educators who work with children ages 5-9 and their parents or caregivers, sharing ideas that strengthen independent reading skills. We want children to gain confidence so they can pick a book to read on their own. We want children to see how much fun it can be to get lost in a story, or to act out the characters, or to learn cool facts about something new. Ultimately, we want to see them excited about coming back to the library once the program is done.

We’ve got five weeks left in this session of Team Up To Read, and we’re excited to see more kids discovering how much fun books can be — register here to join us at an upcoming session!