NEWARK, NJ — Earlier this month, Newark hosted its annual Reading Under the Stars event, featuring the participation of several children’s book authors.
The city held its sixth annual event on August 15 at Ivy Hill Park. That evening, Gary Campbell read “I Am Every Good Thing” by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James, Tulani Thomas read “TuTu Goes Green,” Ismée Williams read “Abuelo the Sea and Me,” Denise Rosario Adusei read “Cesaria Feels the Beat,” and Hilda Eunice Burgos read an excerpt from “Bodega Cats.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a former teacher in the city, read “In Your Hands” by Carole Boston Weatherford. The Aurway Repertory Theater brought the book to life on stage as he turned the pages.
Following the reading, the authors signed copies of their books for those present.
“Reading to our young children and instilling in them a love of language, storytelling and literacy is one of the most important gifts parents can give them,” Baraka said before the event.
“That is why this annual event is so well attended and valued in our community,” the mayor added. “It is a celebration of family as the foundation for expressive communication skills and the pursuit of knowledge that enables lifelong success.”
This year’s gathering is the latest initiative in the ongoing campaign to instill a love of reading in the city’s youngest residents.
Only 19 percent of Newark third-graders passed a recent New Jersey reading test, data shows. Last year, several Newark community leaders gathered for a press conference at the Newark Public Library to announce a 10-point plan to improve reading proficiency among toddlers through third-graders. The plan relies on collaboration between local schools, parents and community groups, encouraging them to join forces and promote children’s reading proficiency.
Events like “Reading Under the Stars” are just one of many rungs on the ladder to success, say supporters.
“The research is clear: When parents read a book with their children every day, they are exposed to an estimated 78,000 additional words each year,” says Sharnee Brown, chief education officer at the Newark Office of Comprehensive Community Education.
“Families with a library of 500 books increase the likelihood that their children will receive a 3.2-year postsecondary education,” Brown added.
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