Dear Friend of Reader To Reader,

I hope you enjoy this newsletter about the Reader To Reader Book Project. Our success is very much due to your donations of books, postage money, and most of all your generous spirit. Please forward this newsletter and help us spread the word.

Special thanks this month to actor John Larroquette, a longtime Reader To Reader supporter, who generously donated brand new classroom sets of Shiloh, Stone Fox and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry to the children of White Street Elementary in Springfield, MA. The children were delighted!

Here is a note from White Street Elementary:

Dear David,

Please pass along our thanks to Mr. Larroquette for purchasing the three classroom sets of books for our "Novel Readers Club." We really appreciate it and the students in the club do too. Helen, one of our club members wrote, "Reading the book is fun, but the most fun part is writing a journal entry." She also sends along her "best wishes for you and your family."

It's hard to put into words the feeling I get when I ask the kids if they have books of their own at home to read and they answer "no." What your group has done is invited literacy and "fun" into the lives of these children. You really are making them "life long learners!" Thanks again for the wonderful books.

Wendi Johnson
English Language Arts - CPDT
White Street Elementary School
Springfield, MA

Oh, and if you haven't gotten the chance to watch an episode of John Larroquette's new show, McBride, please check it out on the Hallmark Channel!

In other news, I’m pleased to report that Reader To Reader has been awarded a $1,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to support our work in bringing books to schools in western Massachusetts.

The Verizon Foundation has identified literacy, workforce development, and community technology deployment as priority areas for community investment. In addition to support for Reader To Reader, Verizon partners include the Massachusetts Department of Education and Mass INC.

Reader To Reader expands into North Carolina. One thing I learned recently is that North Carolina has a sizeable Native American population. According to the 2000 census, over 99,000 Native Americans live in North Carolina. There are eight state-recognized tribes, including the Haliwa-Saponi who are descendants of the Saponi, Tuscarora, Occaneechee, Tutelo, and Nansemond Indians. They live in Halifax and Warren Counties of North Carolina and have a K-8 school in Hollister. We are so pleased to support their school. Here is a letter from them.

Mr. Mazor,

Thank you so much for your donation of books to our school. The large box that came last week was just what we needed. I have chosen the books for my first grade class and am sharing the rest of the box with my colleagues at school for their students use. These books are so welcome because we really have no other source of books. As I unpacked the box the kids’ faces just lit up. When they came to school that morning it was just another day for them, but as one girl said, “Today was a really great day.”

It felt that way for all the teachers too.

Thank you again!

Regards,

Kim Rissmiller
First Grade Teacher
Haliwa-Saponi School, NC

That's all for now.

Until next month,

Sincerely,

David Mazor
Reader To Reader
http://www.readertoreader.org
email: dmazor@readertoreader.org

Please help us with a tax-deductible donation.

Here are just a few of our recent book shipments:

Wellington Elementary, Monticello, ME

• Franklin in the Dark
• Corduroy
• I’m Gonna Like Me!
• In the Night Kitchen
• Amelia Bedelia Helps Out
• I Love You Bunny Rabbit
• 55 more

Blackfeet Community College, Browning, MT

• Seminole Burning
• The Aeneid
• In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
• A Poison Stronger Than Love
• The Sacred Hoop
• Nobodies To Somebodies
• Travesties
• 15 more

Greensboro West Elementary, Greensboro, AL

• Falcon Eddie
• Sacagawea
• Sky Dogs
• Swift Rivers
• Molly Limbo
• Dog Training For Kids
• The Stinky Cheese Man
• 25 more

Berry Elementary, Detroit, MI

• The Big Box
• Hand Signs
• Making Tracks
• Godzilla Ate My Homework
• Detective Donut
• Wings and Wheels
• Moose For Kids
• 70 more

Greensboro East Elementary, Greensboro, AL

• Sammy the Seal
• Wolfstar
• Sunken Treasure
• Zenda
• How Your Body Works
• A Day Under Water
• Jackie Robinson
• 45 more

Navajo Pine High School, Navajo, NM

• Skinwalker
• The Red Badge of Courage
• Hamlet
• Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
• Skeleton Man
• The Navajo
• The Apache
• 65 more

Easthampton High School, Easthampton, MA

• Wolf Rider
• Echo
• Girl Goddess #9
• Fall of a Kingdom
• The Goblin Wood
• The Rag and Bone Shop
• Nothing But the Truth
• 40 more

And that's just the tip of the iceberg!