Racine Reads: Dream Big! Launches One Book, One Grade, One Community

RACINE, Wis., Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- On January 23, Racine Reads: Dream Big! will launch One Book, One Grade, One Community. This new week-long program is a community-wide initiative in which third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students throughout the community receive a copy of the book designated for their grade and simultaneously read it during the week.

This event was developed as part of the Racine Reads: Dream Big! program not only as an effort to keep the students energized about reading and the one million book goal, but also to bring the community together around literacy.

"This program is unique because it touches an entire community of children vs. focusing on a specific school," said Jessica MacPhail, Director Racine Public Library. "This is really in the spirit of what Racine Reads: Dream Big! is all about."

Racine Reads: Dream Big! challenged the more than 10,000 elementary school students in nearly 500 public, private and parochial classrooms across Racine to read one million books. The students are racking up the numbers quickly and have already surpassed 800,000 books.

The program is sponsored by SC Johnson and is a partnership with the Racine Public Library, the City of Racine, Racine Elementary Schools, the Racine Civic Centre, Racine Literacy Council, Family Literacy of Racine, Cops 'N Kids, and Girls Inc.

The Reading List

Nearly 6,000 books are being donated to the students and schools in conjunction with this program. The books include:

Third-grade – The End of the Beginning, by Avi
Fourth-grade – Cat Diaries: Secret Writings of the MEOW Society, by Betsy Byars
Fifth-grade – Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary

Racine Reads: Dream Big! program students in third-, fourth- and fifth-grade will receive their own copy of their respective grade-appropriate book. All school libraries will also receive Max and Ruby books by award-winning author and illustrator Rosemary Wells, who will visit Racine in April as part of the Racine Reads: Dream Big! author series.

Upcoming Events:
February 16, 2012 – Author Visit: Dr. Richard Allington
The community will have an opportunity to hear Dr. Richard Allington, an expert in educating teachers on the best methods to teach reading. Dr. Allington has written more than 100 research articles and a number of books on this topic including Classrooms that Work: They Can All Read and Write. During his visit, Dr. Allington will speak to both educators and parents.

March 2, 2012 – Read Across America Day
The National Education Association's (NEA) Read Across America Day, now in its 13th year, is a program focused on motivating children and teens to read. To support Read Across America Day, which coincides with Dr. Seuss' birthday, Racine Reads: Dream Big! will implement a volunteer program placing community and business leaders in every classroom throughout Racine. 

March – Battle of the Books
Each year, the Racine Public Library coordinates a Battle of the Books literature contest for Racine's fourth- and fifth-grade students. Teams are composed of up to four students representing area public and private schools. In preparing for the tournament, participants read and become knowledgeable about the content of approximately 40 books selected for the Battle by youth services librarians. Meets are held over a four-week period at the Library and highest scoring teams are declared the champions. To date, the Library has seen a 40 percent increase in the number of teams registered, which is a direct result of Racine Reads: Dream Big! because the teams are sponsored by teachers who haven't participated before but are active in the Racine Reads program.

April 26-27, 2012 – Author Visit: Rosemary Wells
The author of the popular Max and Ruby children's book series, Ms. Wells will be in Racine to meet with families during a free community presentation the evening of Thursday, April 26.

Racine Reads: Dream Big! Celebration
The program will officially culminate with a community-wide celebration at the end of the school year.

For more information on events related to Racine Reads: Dream Big! visit www.racinereads.org or the program's Facebook page.

SOURCE Racine Reads: Dream Big!