LeVar
Burton
Sponsored by Reading Rainbow
Main points:
*Parents need to
read in front of their children
* Always ask, ‘What message are we
sending our kids by doing, saying, or exposing them to xyz?'
*There's a need for children’s
literature to address difficult topics in age appropriate ways
Inspired
by the world we live in today
LeVar began by reading his latest
book, The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm. He said he was inspired to write
for children about “when bad things happen to good people – which happens often
in life.” He means to help children deal with traumatic events such as natural
disasters.
He believes this was one of Fred
Roger’s greatest contributions. Fred
addressed difficult topics for children in age appropriate ways.
The
importance of FAMILY literacy
When he is asked by a parent- ‘How
can I help my reluctant reader read more, better, learn to love books, etc?…’
He always asks the parent:
1. How
often does your child see YOU read?
We must read in front of our children. This can’t be stressed enough.
*How can we(RCPL)
get more parents to realize the importance of this?
How often do your
children, nephews, family members, friends see you read?
Do you read
together as a family?
Do you make
reading a priority?
This brings to mind our SRP. We have
what appear to be (patron perception or my perception?) 3 separate/different
reading programs (Children, Teen, Adult). How do we stress that the whole family should sign up- not just parents signing up their
kids. ‘Jimmy, let’s sign you up.- change
that to…Jimmy, this is where you sign up and
this is where I sign up. So we can
read together.’ Parents need to be
deliberate and set the example for their child. Children need to see that it is as
important for their parents to read as it is for them to do so.
My personal impression-from last
year- The adults who signed up for adult SRP weren’t necessarily the same
ones bringing their children in to sign up for children's/teen SRP. How many parents walked over to the adult
sign ups after registering their children?
*How
do we address this?
and...
2. Find your child’s passion. This will encourage them to love to read. Like LeVar said, “If your child loves superheroes…then
dammit get your child some comic books!”
LeVar’s favorite children's books:
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Enemie Pie by Derek Munson
His spoke about some of his biggest
inspirations:
1. Alex
Haley (author of Roots)- for the compassion he showed LeVar early in his
career.
2. Gene
Roddenberry (television screenwriter) –taught him that heroes are human and
will make mistakes. We ALL make mistakes.
3. Fred
Rogers- his storytelling mentor
Reading Rainbow Kickstarter project
status:
Current:
Ø Reading
Rainbow App available now!!! *Is this on
any of our storytime iPad’s?
Ø Monthly
storytime experience posted online
Coming Soon:
Ø the
web version of Reading Rainbow due for release April 2015
Ø teacher/school
resources available soon
Ø an
international presence soon
Q&A followed.
This was filled with tear jerking,
warm and fuzzy anecdotes- testimony to the importance of and legacy of Reading
Rainbow.
Everyone was crying.
This talk totally made my earlier
flight’s cancellation worth it!
