The Significance of Raising A Reader

Raise /ˈrāz/ (verb): To uplift or elevate (physically, emotionally, and spiritually); to restore life to; to increase the value of something; to cause to stand without support; to wake from sleep; to rouse or to stir; to strengthen or stimulate; to imbue or inspire; to build up or construct; to cause or promote growth.

The list of definitions goes on.

To Freemasons, the word ‘raise’, carries great and varied meaning. The depth of this word’s significance is heavily layered and for members of the fraternity, these nuances in definition should mean a lot.

One of the most important things we do in Freemasonry is to raise brethren to the sublime degree of Master Mason. By doing so, we seek to inspire men to be better people, to do good in this world, and to strengthen their values. We also strive to inspire these men to make a difference not only in their own lives, but in the lives of others: to lift up those who have fallen, to bring hope to those who have lost it, and to promote the betterment of mankind through leading by example.

Raising A Reader is important because it allows our fraternity to do this exact thing for children who, otherwise, would go overlooked. Through the Raising A Reader partnership, the Grand Master’s Project for 2011-12, we bring opportunity and hope to the most at - risk children in our state. We will raise their ability to learn and read. We will open up a world of imagination and raise their spirits. We will raise their beliefs that they, too, can rise above life’s challenges and do something great. We will raise their level of education so they can stand unassisted in the world.

And in turn, we will raise this state and this country to a higher level of literacy and success - one child at a time.

Raising A Reader. Raising a Master Mason. The significance of this connection in language, both symbolically and practically, is not lost on us.

For a PDF version of this message, click here.

"Hooked on Reading"

Don't forget: Read Across America is this Friday, March 2! Created by the National Education Association (NEA), Read Across America is meant to motivate children--and adults--to read each and every day. To remind us of the importance of book sharing, we wanted to share a great blog post (entitled, "Hooked on Reading") with you by Dennis Van Roekel, president of the NEA:

"It starts early. When we are maybe age three or four or five. When we are young and impressionable. Someone close to us opens a book and reads to us about animals that talk, ghosts that live in haunted castles or pirates in search of buried treasure

And we are hooked. We can't wait for someone to read us another story that causes our imaginations to run wild. If you've ever shared a book with a child, you know the joy and excitement this small act can bring. It's almost comical how some children want to hear the same story over and over and over — they are so spellbound by it.

Research shows that children who are read to at home have a higher success rate in school and frequently develop stronger reading skills. Reading is the foundation of education.

Unfortunately, too many children have no one to read to them. The National Center for Education Statistics tells us that almost 50 percent of children ages three to five do not get read to on a daily basis. This is staggering..."

Read more at EdWeek.org

A Look at Our Books

In honor of Black History Month, we wanted to share some of our favorite books from our African-American collection. This collection is one of the many supplemental book sets that Raising A Reader offers to classroom teachers. By providing these multicultural book sets, we hope that the titles included in each collection will serve as a mirror and a window for each child. According to Rudine Sims Bishop, “It is important to provide multicultural books that allow a child to see an accurate portrayal of his or her life reflected in a book [the mirror], as well as offer an undistorted view of someone else’s life [the window].”

FULL, FULL, FULL OF LOVE
Written by Trish Cooke
Illustrated by Paul Howard

Publisher synopsis: “For Jay, Sunday dinner at Grannie’s house is always full—full of hugs and kisses…full of tasty dishes…full to the brim with happy faces…full, full, full of love.”

Raising A Reader review: Full, Full, Full of Love is full, full, full of wonderful illustrations, subtle rhymes and believable characters. Paul Howard’s illustrations perfectly capture the warm feeling of being at Grannie’s house and the closeness between Jay, Grannie and all of their family members. Trish Cooke’s thoughtful word choices and soft rhymes like, “Grannie’s fish tank is full,/ full of all kinds of fishes./ Splash, splish./ Wiggle, wiggle,” expose children to internal rhyme while also lending the text a three-dimensional feel. And although little Jay can be a bit mischievous and impatient while he waits for Sunday dinner, his Grannie finds kid-friendly ways to keep him entertained, like cuddling as they wait for the rest of their family to arrive. Full, Full, Full of Love is a sweet story to share with young readers while waiting for Sunday dinner to be served.

A STORY, A STORY
Written and illustrated by Gail E. Haley

Publisher synopsis: “Once, all the stories in the world belonged to Nyame, the Sky God. He kept them in a box beside his throne. But Ananse, the Spider man, wanted them—and caught three sly creatures to get them. This story of how we got our own stories to tell is adapted from an African folktale.”

Raising A Reader review: Gail E. Haley’s A Story, A Story is more than just a great story about Ananse, the spider man. Her colorful block prints transport the reader to another time and place where leopards can be tricked into traps and fairies exist alongside men. Rich vocabulary and African terms which might be new to young children (and their families) is helpfully repeated to clarify meaning and strengthen the feeling of the words. For example, Haley writes: “He crept through the tall grasses, sora, sora, sora, till he came to the nest of Mmboro, the hornets-who-sting-like-fire.” With its bright illustrations and fun trickster tale, it’s easy to see why A Story, A Story was chosen as a Caledcott Medal winner and as a part of our collection.

UPTOWN
Written and illustrated by Bryan Collier

Publisher synopsis: “Uptown is a rich mix of flavors, colors, sounds, and cultures that come together to create a vibrant community like no other in the world. Seen through the eyes of one little boy who lives there, the details of life in Harlem are as joyous as a game of basketball on a summer's afternoon and as personal as a trip to the barbershop where old-timers reminisce.”

Raising A Reader review: A young boy describes scenes from everyday life in Harlem, New York in Uptown. There are two great reasons to read Bryan Collier’s award winning book: first, the narrator gives the audience creative perspectives on what makes Harlem exciting and unique, such as, “Uptown is canvas awnings on the windows to block the sun” and "Uptown is a song sung by the Boys Choir of Harlem"; second, the mixed-media illustrations, which are composed of everything from textiles to photos to watercolor drawings. Each reading of Uptown will surprise young readers with new discoveries in Collier’s illustrations and delight them with a journey through Harlem’s vibrant community. Uptown is the winner of two awards: The Coretta Scott King Award and the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award.

A note about book awards:
We’ve all heard of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, but children’s books can win awards, too! Many of the titles in our collection are award-winning…but what do those awards mean? Click the links below to find out more information about awards for children’s literature:

The Caldecott Medal
The Newbery Medal
The Coretta Scott King Award
The Erza Jack Keats Book Award

SF Examiner: "Nonprofit distributing free books to children"

Recently, the San Francisco Examiner published an article about our partnership with Raising A Reader!  Check out an excerpt from the article below which mentions one of our pilot sites, Jose Ortega Elementary School in San Francisco.

Raising a Reader, which distributes books to young children so their parents can read to them, recently expanded from preschool to kindergarten with a pilot program at Jose Ortega Elementary School. And, a $250,000 grant from the Masons of California will soon put Raising a Reader in 250 kindergartens across the state.

“It’s not just about reading aloud,” said Ortega kindergarten teacher Cynthia Young, whose students each borrow four books every week. “It’s about getting kids excited about books.”

Educators have long known that children from low-income families are less prepared for kindergarten. They are less likely to know their ABCs and less likely to have books at home. Raising a Reader aims to help these children catch up. That’s especially important at Ortega, a San Francisco public school where 60 percent of students come from low-income families and a quarter are just learning English.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner.

A Message from Dr. Holly Kreider

Central Elementary School in City Heights, San Diego.

I’ve spent the better part of two decades conducting research and documenting best practices in family engagement, first at the Harvard Family Research Project and now at Raising A Reader’s National Office.  Yet never have I seen a partnership quite as promising and unique as that between Raising A Reader and the Masons of California.  Here lies an opportunity with tremendous reach, impact, community engagement, and sustainability.

In the first year alone, the effort will bring high quality children’s books, parent training, and library connections to low-income children in 250 classrooms in the most under-resourced schools in the state.  And for years to come, local Masons can continue their commitment to supporting literacy programming in their local neighborhood schools, as well as share in the ultimate success of literate and academically thriving children.

An early win for this partnership comes from Central Elementary School in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego, where 100% of the students live below the poverty line.  All eight classrooms at Central will begin implementation of Raising A Reader in early 2012, with the full support of the broader San Diego Unified School District (the second largest district in the state), and with a goal of expanding to several more schools in the neighborhood in Fall 2012.

For one journalist’s take on a kick-off event in San Diego, check out Bey Ling Sha's short piece on the Voice of San Diego.