Thanks to the Pandemic, We Didn’t Do Literacy in the Park This Year.
But Thanks to Local Authors and the Lt. Governor of Michigan, We Instead did Fall in Love With Reading.
Native Detroit authors David Watkins and young King Thomas Moore joined our Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist for Fall In Love With Reading!, a virtual, three-week series of book readings that specifically targets our focus audience: the young. The series has finished and was successful. Watch the videos below.
Lt. Gov. Gilchrist
The Lt. Governor is a native of Detroit, and read a book written by Detroit author Jahquan Hawkins, titled Donovan’s College Adventure. As a father with young children, Michigan’s second-in-command has said it’s important to him that they, too, understand the importance of reading and, according to his staff, has a habit of reading to them already. Learn more about him here. The video introduction is provided by Chris Campbell, a WDET music journalist who has also acted as MC at Literacy in the Park. But, unfortunately, not this year!
David Watkins
Mr. Watkins has written nearly a dozen books, nearly all of them targeted to the young. He will be reading one of them, Stone Soup, and is currently working on his latest tome. As a native Detroiter, Mr. Watkins has also created a nonprofit focused on improving literacy in Michigan’s underserviced communities. To get a sense of his work, visit his website here.
King Thomas Moore
The 14-year-old poet loves the written word, performance and giving back. He’s the published author of A Peace of A Poem, reads from it in the video and is currently working on his second book. He is also a skilled musician and active athlete. Learn more about him here.
And, Now That They’re Done, You Read!
That’s right. Now that all of them have finished their readings, LOL wants young readers to do the same thing: record themselves reading, then upload it to us here. Then, we’ll post it to our same social media page and let folks know what they can find there.
As our founder, Alma Greer, often says: A child who reads will be an adult who thinks.
Ensure that the reader says their first name, age and book title before starting to read aloud. Send us a picture of the reader, record the video and upload it here.
Questions? Give us a call or send us an email.
