Are you looking for a beautiful vibrant new children's book to share with your young ones? Read to Succeed recommends "Black Boy, Black Boy - Celebrate the Power of You."

Co-authored by Asheville-based author Jorge Redmond and his longtime friend Ali Kamanda and illustrated by Ken Daly, “Black Boy, Black Boy” is a vibrant rhyming children’s book that celebrates a host of change-makers in Black history from around the world.

Families can use the free printable guide below to dive into discussion questions, extension activities, and illustrations. Click the image to download this free guide.

Extend your child's experience with this diverse children's book through fun and engaging extension activities. Click the image below to download this free printable activity guide.

Related posts:

Fall-Themed Children's Books Featuring Black Characters
10 Back to School Books Featuring Black Characters
5 Ice Cream Inspired Reading Tips & Ideas
11 Children's Books About LOVE Featuring Black Characters
6 Children's Books Celebrating Creativity and Imagination
10 Books About Moving to a New Place Featuring Black Protagonists
10 STEM-inspire Children's books With Black Protagonists

2022 has been a year for the record books at R2S! Check out our quick look back in the video below:

2022 By the Numbers:

• 100+ tutors and community partner staff trained
• Over 750 families participating in family reading and community events
• 2,000+ culturally-responsive children's books distributed
• 150 PreK and elementary students reached by programming weekly
• 10 reading teachers supporting after-school classrooms
• 40+ reading tutors supporting K-4 students twice a week
• 100% of students enrolled in R2S Tutoring Program demonstrating gains in foundational reading skills
• 6 visits with local students by Black children's book authors
• 6 new members added to the R2S Board of Directors
• 2 new full-time staff members added to R2S team
. . . and much more!

Is your family looking for a unique and impactful way to give back this holiday season? Keep reading in mind as you explore fun and charitable ways to spread holiday cheer and support your community.

1. Donated gently used books
Making space for new books and gifts arriving at your house this holiday season? Encourage your entire family to collect gently used items (books, clothes, toys, etc.) for donation. Make sure they are in good condition, clean, and worthy of donation to be enjoyed by another family. Great places to donate gently used books include:

• Charity/thrift stores
• Free Little Libraries
• Local literacy nonprofits

2. Read and feed
What better way to practice reading, writing, and explore new vocabulary together than through food and cooking? Write a grocery list of items with your kids to buy and donate to a local food pantry or read a recipe together and cook a holiday treat for a neighbor or community group. Great places to donate food in Asheville and Buncombe County this holiday season include:

• Local food pantries
• BeLoved Street Pantries
• Haywood Street Congregation

3. Write a holiday letter
Reaching out to loved ones near and far during the holidays can bring a lot of cheer and happiness to others who may find this time of year lonely or challenging. Work with your kids to write and decorate holiday cards and letters filled with encouraging words and love.

4. Read to others
Children can practice reading to others around the holidays in a variety of ways - Zoom Grandma and read her a bedtime story, contact a local animal shelter and see if they let children read to any of their feline residents, record a live story time and share privately with family and friends, the options are endless!

5. Give the gift of literacy
If your family contributes to charitable organizations around the holidays, consider education and literacy nonprofits that are working hard to support students in learning to read. The impact of COVID on learning loss, combined with decades of declining reading growth, especially among elementary students, means that the work of reading tutors and education organizations is more important than ever.

On December 17, 2022, visit Barnes & Noble (Biltmore Town Square) for a unique way to support to Read to Succeed!

Shop for holiday gifts and use the voucher below to make sure a portion of your purchase goes to R2S' community-powered literacy programming.
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It's easy! Click the flyer with barcode attached below, print, and present it at checkout at Barnes & Noble on Saturday, Dec. 17!

In addition to great holiday shopping, there will also be free games and treats for kids, face painting, prizes, and more!

Even better? Save 10% on one item using the coupon below - click to download and print, and present at checkout on 12/17/22.

Looking for a fun learning activity for your PreK child to enjoy over Winter Break? Don’t miss these five activities, complete with supply lists, directions, and family reading tips!

1. Gingerbread Letters
A student’s ability to recognize and name letters and letter sounds is a fundamental reading skill that helps prepare them for kindergarten. Practice letter name recognition with this delicious cookie-inspired activity.

We based our recipe off of this no-cook recipe from Artful Parent, with an addition of gingerbread cookie spices!

Supplies:

• 1 Cup Flour
• ¼ Cup Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Cream of Tartar
• 1 Tablespoon Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 2 Teaspoons Ginger
• ¼ Teaspoon Cloves
• 1 Cup Boiling Water
• Food Coloring

Gingerbread Dough instructions:

• Mix the dough together either with a stand mixer or knead by hand.
• Mix together the flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
• Add 1 drop of yellow, 2 drops of red food coloring, and 1 drop of green into the hot water.
• Pour the wet mix into the dry mix. Stir well and knead until it is no longer sticky but smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.
  
  

Activity instructions:

• Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out (about ¼ inch thick).
• Stamp it with letter cookie cutters, or use a clean wet knife to cut out letters of your choosing.
• Encourage your child to stamp out letters of their name or fun holiday words like “hat,” “gift,” “bell,” “elf,” “star,” or snow.”

2. Snowman Letter Match
PreK students being able to identify, read, and write lowercase and uppercase letters is essential to kindergarten readiness. Students can use this activity to learn that uppercase letters have a special job (i.e., on names and places), and lowercase letters are used most often.

Supplies:

• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue or tap
• Markers or crayons

Activity instructions:

• Choose 5 - 10 letters from the alphabet that your child will write for the activity.
• Cut out one small circle and an equal number of medium and large circles from the construction paper for the three mains parts of a snowman.
• Ask your child to draw a snowman’s face on the smallest circle.
• On the medium circles, ask your child to write the uppercase letter.*
• On the large circles, ask your child to write a matching lowercase letter.*
• Practice letter matching by placing a medium circle (uppercase letter) under the snowman face and asking your child to find the large matching circle (lowercase letter)

*Check out this letter formation guide for practicing writing letters.

3. Hot Chocolate Alphabet Match
Turn your crafty cup of cocoa into a fun activity for matching lowercase and uppercase letters – and practicing letter names and sounds!

Check out a supply list and directions over on Toddler Approved - click here.

4. Snowball Letter Fight
Get active while learning with this winter-inspired activity that supports letter recognition skills.

Supplies:

• White construction paper
• Marker
• Tape
• Masking tape

Activity instructions:

• Choose 5 - 10 letters for your child to write
• Write one letter on each piece of construction paper
• Tape them evenly spaced out on the wall
• For the snowball, crumple a couple of pieces of construction paper and wrap them in masking tape to hold it together.
• Encourage your child to say a letter name and then throw their “snowball” at the matching letter on the wall.

5. Finger Painting Fun with Frosting!
In addition to recognizing and naming letters, learning to write letters with the correct letter formation is an important skill for PreK students to be able to learn to read when they get to kindergarten. Use this fun activity to practice letter formation (and enjoy a yummy treat!).

Supplies:

• Icing
• Little candies (M&Ms, sprinkles, crushed candy cane, etc.
• Tray or plate

Activity Instructions:

• Spread icing on a tray or plate into a relatively flat/smooth area
• Encourage your child to trace a letter into the icing with their finger; practice letters that are commonly mixed up, for ex: b and d, m and w, p and q
• Use the little candies to build letters too, or fill in the finger-traced letters.

Now through December 17, 2022, visit Barnes & Noble (Biltmore Town Square) and purchase *new* culturally-responsive children's books to be donated to R2S.

It's easy! When you check out, the staff member working at the register will ask you if you would like to purchase a book(s) to be donated to R2S - you let them know how many books, and they take care of the rest!

R2S distributes thousands of children's books every year in seasonal book bundles for students, at family reading and community events, with school and after-school partners, and much more.

Thank you to Barnes & Noble for their incredible partnership and dedication to students in Asheville and Buncombe County!

As the leaves finish falling from the trees and temperatures keep dropping, why not help your child “fall” in love with a new book?

Celebrate autumn this year with a bunch of good books guaranteed to make your mouth water for apples, pumpkins, and perhaps even inspire you to enjoy a mooncake!

“Apple Picking Day” written by Candice Ransom and illustrated by Erika Meza

A good book for early readers who are just beginning to recognize letters and sound out words, this charming little tale about a pair of siblings visiting an apple orchard is a great starter. Sure to captivate many, the rhyme and rhythm of this book is fun to follow and light read!

Watch a free read aloud here.

“In the Leaves” written by Huy Voun Lee

Have you ever been excited to learn new things alongside a new season? Well how about new words as well! Xiao Ming takes his friends (and the readers) to the farm to show off some new Chinese characters he’s learned  and explain some of the thought that went into making them!

“Monster Trouble!” written by Lane Fredrickson and illustrated by Michael Robertson

Our heroine is armed with wits and courage but just can’t seem to get rid of these monsters that show up at night! Winifred Schnitzel’s adventures with figuring out just what might make those monsters go away for once and for all are written in rhythmic rhymes that’ll have everyone engaged in what she’ll do next!

Watch a free read-aloud here.

“Fall Leaves: Colorful and Crunchy” written by Martha E.H. Rustad and illustrated by Amanda Enright

Explore science and seasons in this engaging children's book that teaches readers all about the life cycle of leaves. Identify leaf colors, parts of the leaf, and the different natural processes that contribute to the changing of the seasons and the colorful crunchy leaves that greet you in fall.

Watch a free read-aloud here.

“The Shadow in the Moon” written by Christina Matula and illustrated by Pearl Law

Featuring a classic Chinese folk story about the Mid-Autumn Festival, two sisters and their grandmother enjoy the story behind a Chinese holiday. At the end of the day, the sisters not only learn about the story, but learn how the mooncakes they enjoy so much came to be!

Watch a free read-aloud here.

“Apple Countdown” written by Joan Holub and illustrated by Jan Smith

Number-based and full of fun apple orchard-related tidbits, our next book is engineered to challenge kids to count and do some math as they learn about a trip to a farm! Also packed with apple facts, take a child on a ride through an apple-themed field trip as all of the class in the book enjoy their day!

Watch a free read-aloud here.

“Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn” written and illustrated by Kenard Pak

"Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn" highlights the way the seasons shift ever so slightly in all sorts of colorful ways, though it's not just limited to leaves! Kenard Pak makes sure to look at all the ways you can tell fall is here, through the temperature, the flowers, and the creatures alike! Beautifully illustrated, the accompanying pictures do a great job of visualizing these changes.

Watch a free read-aloud here.

Celebrate the autumn season and nature's colorful array of leaves! Don't forget to put on your sleeves!

Fall is here. Its extraordinary effects, are near . . . check out these 5 fun fall-inspired reading activities for PreK and elementary-aged children.

ACTIVITY 1: Flashlight Fun*Visual Sensory*
Ages: Infant and up

We love the Flashlight Fun activity we found on whattoexpect.com - check out the original here.

Watch the amazement in your child's eyes, as the lights dash, beam, and dance, from one surface to the next..

Supplies:
Flashlight
Tissue paper or scarf
Rubber band or masking tape
Colored Pencils or Pens

Directions:

• Place a piece of colored tissue paper or a sheer scarf over the end of the flashlight.
•  Keep  "filter" in place with masking tape or a rubber band that’s not too small
•  Shine the fun color/colors across your baby's ceiling, walls, toys and toes!
• Can even be done outside..
•  Narrating a story, making sounds, showing how fast/slow things can go could enhance the experience.
  
  

BONUS LITERACY IDEA: 
Support young learners in recognizing letters by creating alphabet stencils to go with the tissue paper or scarf filters. Parent can write words on tissue paper - sound out the word, spell it out, say the word and have your child repeat it, and even use it in a sentence together!

​ACTIVITY 2: Fall Scavenger Hunt
Ages: 6 and up

We hope you enjoy this activity we found, with free printables here.

Let’s help a scavenger find its list of treats with a fun-filled fall scavenger hunt for kids! Not only is this a great way to explore nature, but it puts our mini detectives on the case for discovering, problem solving, 

Supplies: 

• Printed out list, or self made list of items to scavenge.
• Writing utensil

Directions:

• Flexible to be done inside/outside
• These can be taken on fall field trips to local pumpkin patches, farms, and more.
• Can be done while traveling. 
• Can also be done, while watching some fall tv shows/movies

BONUS LITERACY IDEA:
Reading lists together can be a fun activity for young learners - shopping lists, packing lists, ToDo lists, you name it. Create a list together and practice sounding out the words on the list and/or spell each item out loud and on paper with your child. See if they can remember at least one word on the list and share a special treat with them when they do!

​ACTIVITY 3: Fall Themed T-Shirts
Ages: 3 and up

Get creative, with a young learner, and help them make something they can learn from and wear at the same time.

Find some “HOW TO” videos, and more examples of ABC SHIRTS here. 

Supplies: 

• New, or old shirt
  
• Markers(preferably fabric)
• Paint, if desired(preferably fabric)
• Paint brushes, if using paint
• Images to trace, or sketch

Directions: 

• Grab an old shirt, or a brand new one.
• Sketch images desired on shirt with a pen or marker
• With any art supplies handy (fabric markers or fabric paint work best) allow child/children to decorate their shirts.
• Allow to dry, gentle/delicate wash/dry. Fall themed shirts are now wearable.

BONUS LITERACY ACTIVITY/IDEA:
Parents can work with their early reader by having the child point to a picture on the back of the shirt together and practice the sounds of the beginning, middle, or ending letters.

For example, parent points to the "A" in "APPLE" and says, "a /a/ apple," and the child repeats. You can also practice spelling the word–[arent: “A-P-P-L-E”. Child: “A-P-P-L-E. "Or, parent can say “Repeat after me” a…A…p…P…p…P…l…L…e…E.”

​ACTIVITY 4: Fall Bingo
Ages 4 and up

Reminisce one of your favorite childhood games, with a twist. A fall-themed activity to spark curiosity and learn about fall.

Adults can find some free fall-themed BINGO  printables here. You can also create you own, online, or in the comfort of your home.

Supplies:

• Bingo boards/pages
• Something to cover spaces on the board/page (can be household items, like torn pieces pf paper, something edible, like cereal or chips.
  
  

Directions:

• Adult calls letter/number, word, or image.
• Child/children fill in the spaces til they have BINGO
• Whomever gets it first, wins the game.
• Clear board and play again.

This fun activity is great one=to-one, in small groups, or with an entire class!

BONUS LITERACY IDEA:
Practice beginning and ending sounds of the words children are covering on their bingo board. For example, if the word called out is "Turkey," say "Turkey! What's the first sound in turkey? /t/ That's right! What letter makes the sound /t/? T!"

ACTIVITY 5: Edible Pumpkin Play Dough *Texture Sensory*
Ages: 2 and up

You may have some things at home that can make a fun and doughy treat! Introduce a different style of reading enrichment with your child/children with edible pumpkin play dough.

Making the dough together can bring a sense of warmth and coziness to the atmosphere. Children will practice reading and following directions and creating something they can play with and eat..

Supplies:

• (1) 16 oz can of pumpkin
• 2 cups of cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• OPTIONAL Sensory Play Food: Parents can add tasty  extras to their dough for extended sensory play! Seeds from a pumpkin, chocolate chips, and much more!
  

Directions:
For full recipe, click here.

BONUS LITERACY IDEA:
You can use this experience as an opportunity to work on recognizing letters in the alphabet and building decodable words together.

Using the dought, the parent/child can roll out pieces and shape them into the letters of a word such as CAT, TOP, or DIG. Once the word is built, have your child use their hands to smash each letter while saying it's name–C. . .A. . .T!

Make more letters, words, and even shapes with the dough and then . . .
EAT THAT DOUGH! As you are wrapping up with the play dough experience, allow the child to enjoy a treat, with their lesson. 

Use this fall as an opportunity to learn more fun-filled and  engaging fall reading activities to do with our children. HAPPY FALL TO YOU ALL!!!!!