Thank you for joining us in our community read this year. If you haven’t begun to read our books, no worries, there is still time!

As a reminder, here are the purposes of our community read a) build community through conversation, b) strengthen understanding and empathy for others, and c) highlight an amazing and gifted writer. 

This year we have chosen the award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson and her books Brown Girl Dreaming for grades 4-8, and Each Kindness and The Day You Begin for grades Preschool - 3rd.

Brown Girl Dreaming - An important theme in this book is family. What does family mean to Jacqueline? What does family mean to you? Values come up a lot in Part II. What are your family values? 

Each Kindness - What do you think Maya is feeling? What do you see in the picture that shows how Maya is feeling? Have you ever been in a new situation or met a new group of people for the first time? How did you feel?

The Day You Begin - Have you ever walked into a room full of people who seemed different from you? How did you feel? What made you feel that way? How did your feelings change as time passed? 

We are asking everyone in our community-- faculty, staff, parents, and students--to consider joining us for this exploration into self-identity and belonging. Please make sure you have a copy of the book(s) at home. If you do not have the book(s), the amazing bookstore Kids Inc. on Illinois St. has copies of each in stock just for us! If you are interested in purchasing these books, we encourage you to support this small, local business. If you would like to support Black-owned bookstores, here is the link to Literary Hub where you will find a list of stores you can support. Copies of these books are also available at local libraries if you would like to borrow instead of buy. Click here to check availability → IndyPL. 

You can also access Jacqueline Woodson reading The Day You Begin on the Netflix series Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices.   

Week of 1/31 - “Family Tree” and Part I

Week of 2/7 - Part II

Week of 2/14 - Part III

Week of 2/21 - Part IV

Week of 2/28 - “Author’s Note,” “Thankfuls,” and “Family Photos”  

Would you like to learn more about Jacqueline Woodson? Click here to visit her website: Jacqueline Woodson. You can learn more about Jacqueline Woodson’s thoughts on Brown Girl Dreaming by watching this author video → Author Video.