Jaha Avery—acclaimed lawyer, thought leader, and passionate advocate for justice—presents "I Heard: An American Journey," a compelling and beautiful work that explores themes of heritage, identity, culture, family, and resilience.

Drawing from her rich background in civil rights law and advocacy, Avery weaves a powerful narrative that speaks to the heart of the Black American experience. Fun fact, Avery has family roots in Western North Carolina, and specifically the Asheville area too!

Through lyrical rhyming storytelling and sharp insight, "I Heard" examines the echoes of history in personal and collective memory, tracing the journey of individuals navigating race, belonging, and self-discovery in a complex society.

Watch a free read-aloud of "I Heard" below!

Download the free printable Student Reading Guide for "I Heard" HERE.

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10 Back to School Books Featuring Black Characters
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11 Children's Books About LOVE Featuring Black Characters
6 Children's Books Celebrating Creativity and Imagination

Do you have a New Year's intention to get more involved in your community? To support nonprofits and causes you care about?

R2S has you covered with five essential ways to support our community-powered literacy programs in Asheville and Buncombe County.

1. Sign up to be a Reading Tutor
Due to Helene, local students missed more than a month of school. Now, more than ever, they deserve the absolute best our community can give them to support their education!

New training dates for volunteer tutors are right around the corner, and now is the time to sign up! All new volunteer reading tutors are required to complete a minimum of six hours of training (two hours a day spread across three days) of training.

WHAT: R2S Volunteer Tutor Training
DATES: Wednesdays, Jan. 15, 22, and 29th, 2025
WHERE: 6 PM - 8 PM on Zoom

Click HERE to learn more and complete a Volunteer Application today!

2. Become a Monthly Donor
Sustained giving really adds up for grassroots nonprofits like R2S!

• $15/mo. provides three books to three students each month.
  
• $25/mo. supports weekly read-alouds in PreK classrooms.
  
• $50/mo. fills Tutor Toolkits and funds ongoing coaching.
  
• $100/mo. serves community partners with literacy training (and earns you a spot in the R2S Page Turners Circle!)
  
  

Commit to monthly giving in 2025, and know that your support directly impacts local students and their families.  Click HERE to get started today!

3. Follow R2S on Social Media
One of the best ways to stay up to date on all the latest R2S happenings - from volunteer opportunities to family reading events, guest author visits, and press - is to follow us at @r2sasheville on Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn.

4. Join our Page Turners Circle
R2S Page Turners Circle members receive special R2S swag, get exclusive updates from Co-Executive Directors, and attend special events. Any donor giving more than $1,000 in a calendar year automatically becomes an R2S Page Turners Circle member!

Click HERE to learn more and join the Page Turners Circle today!

5. Learn about the youth literacy crisis
Did you know that more than half of all NC third-graders do *not* read on grade level? When you sub-aggregate that data by race and income level, the numbers are even more astonishing.

The BEST way to support literacy is to learn about how our city, state and country got to this crisis and how educators everywhere are using the Science of Reading to reverse the curve and show up for students in unprecedented ways.

Stream "The Right to Read" documentary, listen to "Sold a Story" podcast, and follow R2S in the press to get started.

The Read 2 Succeed blog was a rich resource in 2024, featuring children's book recommendations, free printable literacy activities, family reading ideas, and much more. Check out our top 8 posts from 2024 below!

1. 13 ABC Books Featuring Black and Brown Characters & Celebrating All Bodies
Print awareness, letter recognition, and learning letter sound names are critical components of early literacy skills children acquire in PreK and kindergarten. This fan-favorite blog post features incredible BIPOC-centered ABC books that help children learn their ABC's and everything that comes with them!

2. 8 More Black Children's Books About LOVE
A follow-up to our most-visited post in 2023, this Valentines-inspired blog post celebrates love of family, self, and community.  Book recommendations feature incredible authors like Kevin Lewis, Lupita Nyong'o, and Ama KariKari-Yawson - don't miss it!

3. Meet Ms. Ann Davis | Read 2 Succeed's New Storytime Specialist
R2S was thrilled to welcome literacy champion and founder of Books Alive! with Mrs. Ann to the team in the spring of 2024 as our new Storytime Specialist. Mrs. Ann reads in Head Start and PreK classrooms across the county with partners at Community Action Opportunities and Christine W. Avery Learning Center as well as at school and community events.

4. 5 Summer-Inspired Reading Activities for Elementary Students
We soaked up the summer sun with free printable reading activities for students and families to enjoy over break. From A-Z scavenger hunts to reading challenges and more, there was no end to the literacy fun that helps kids keep reading skills sharp while they are out of school.

5. 5 Summer-Inspired Literacy Activities for Pre-K Students
Embrace the amazing amount of brain development happening 0 - 5 years old with these seasonal literacy activities for pre-kindergarteners. Ideas included free printable ice cream cone letters to playing "I Spy" with sounds, and more!

6. 10 Children's Books With Black Olympians
R2S celebrated the 2024 Summer Olympics with a fun post featuring incredible children's books all about different Black Olympians, including Usain Bolt, Wilma Rudolph, Simone Biles, Muhammad Ali, Vonetta Flowers, Jesse Owens, and more!

7. Autumn-Inspired Literacy Activities for Elementary Students
Free printable reading activities in this fall-tastic blog article included a synonyms puzzle, autumn code breaker, and magical madlibs! Engaging multi-sensory activities that get kids reading are sure-fire ways to create positive experiences with learning that will last a lifetime.

8. Working With Children After Crisis & Disaster
With the support of Child Life Disaster Relief, R2S was able to offer training to volunteer tutors and community partners following Hurricane Helene all about trauma-informed support for children. Our blog post from Elementary Literacy Directory Lindsey Sterrett shares key best practices for supporting students after a disaster - from emotional regulation to handling big questions and building relationships.

Related Posts:
Best of 2023┃Read to Succeed Blog