Thank you William Penn Foundation |
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The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia region through efforts that increase educational opportunities for children from low-income families, ensure a sustainable environment, foster creativity that enhances civic life, and advance philanthropy in the Philadelphia region. Reading Allowed is the recipient of a grant from the William Penn Foundation to diversify the pool of certified and experienced tutors to represent the city we serve. The award will support Wilson Reading System®/Science of Reading training for 15 individuals which will cover enrollment in Wilson Reading System® courses as well as certification and a $1,600 stipend. Successful applicants will demonstrate a commitment to serving students and families from underserved communities in Philadelphia. In addition, participants will be enrolled in AIM Institute’s First Step Modules (Overview of the Science of Reading, Phonological Awareness, and Decoding and Spelling Modules). All coursework will commence in the summer of 2022 and will be completed in June 2023. Successful applicants will demonstrate a commitment to serving students from underserved communities in Philadelphia as well as a passion for learning about the science of reading and bringing best practices to their reading instruction. Interested in applying? Click on the button below for further details. |
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Our Tutors are Virtually Amazing |
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Each Monday, Brody S. a fifth-grader at Albert M. Greenfield in Center City, and Reading Allowed tutor, Kelly Wehrberger share some quality time. The two take turns reading paragraphs from chapter books. “I wanted Brody to learn to read for enjoyment,” says Jami Slotnick, Brody’s mom. “It’s nice to have an escape without leaving the house! Plus, it’s empowering to pick up a preferred book—because you want to, not because you have to—and read on your own terms,” she added. Kelly and Brody have developed an amazing rapport and laugh each time Kelly’s cat makes an impromptu appearance. “I love Kelly,” says 12-year-old Brody with a smile. “She just gets me.” |
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Poetry Can Help Develop Reading Skills |
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From making reading fun to teaching kids different ways to think about phonemic sounds, poetry is an invaluable resource in any young reader’s literacy journey. |
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Speaker Series Info Coming Soon! |
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Special guests will include Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center, and Resha Conroy, Founder, Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children. |
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A Meaningful Way to Support Us |
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April Showers Bring Lots of Indoor Reading Times! |
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By Belinda Rochelle ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This stunning collection of African-American poetry spanning the 19th century through the present pairs twenty poems by distinguished African-American poets with twenty works of art by acclaimed African-American artists. Renowned poets and artists such as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Rita Dove, Countee Cullen, Jacob Lawrence, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar powerfully explore themes of slavery, racism, and black pride, among many others. |
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| By Naomi Shihab Nye ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Honey. Beeswax. Pollinate. Hive. Colony. Work. Dance. Communicate. Industrious. Buzz. Sting. Cooperate. Where would we be without bees? Where would we be without one another? In eighty-two poems and paragraphs, Naomi Shihab Nye helps us to think about the essentials of our time — our loved ones, our air, our wars, our memories, our planet — and leaves us feeling curiously sweeter and profoundly soothed. |
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| By Sharon Creech ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ In Hate That Cat, Jack is only trying to save the fat black cat that is stuck in the tree by his bus stop — but the cat scratches him instead! At school Miss Stretchberry begins introducing new poems and poets, everything from William Carlos Williams to Valerie Worth to T.S. Eliot. As the year progresses, Jack gradually learns to love that cat and finds new ways to express himself through poetry. |
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| By Sharon Creech ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, won’t stop giving her class poetry assignments — and Jack can’t avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns that he does have something to say. |
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| By Susan Hood ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ In this book of poems, you will learn about Mary Anning, who was just thirteen when she unearthed a prehistoric fossil. You’ll meet Ruby Bridges, the brave six-year-old who helped end segregation in the South. And don’t forget Maya Lin, who at twenty-one won a competition to create a war memorial, and then had to appear before Congress to defend her right to create. These are just a few of the young women included in this book. |
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| By Naomi Shihab Nye ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Acclaimed poet and Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shines a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to those less fortunate, A deeply moving, sometimes funny, and always provocative poetry collection for all ages. |
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| By Shel Silverstein ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Have you ever read a book with everything on it? Well, here it is, an amazing collection of never-before-published poems and drawings from the creator of Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and Falling Up. Just come on in and let the magic of Shel Silverstein bend your brain and open your heart. |
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| ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ In honor of Poem in Your Pocket Day, a child imagines the poems animals might carry in their pockets if they had pockets. What would a hummingbird write? A fox? A sea otter? These poems capture the essence of animals furry, feathery and finny, exploring what makes each one unique. |
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| By Irene Latham ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This beautiful poetry collection introduces readers to the art of “found poetry.” Within a 37-line poem called “Nest,” the poet finds 160 smaller poems within it! |
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| By Lee Benett Hopkins ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Fourteen poems compiled by award-winning poet and anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins introduce readers to the various construction people who collaborate to create a high-rise hotel building, from architects to crane operators to glaziers and more. |
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| By Carole Boston Weatherford ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Through a sequence of raw and poignant poems, poet Carole Boston Weatherford chronicles legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday—the singer’s young life, her fight for survival, and the dream she pursued with passion. |
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| By Marilyn Nelson ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Beautiful verse explores agricultural scientist George Washington Carver’s life and many achievements, from his work as a botanist and inventor to his unsung gifts as a painter, musician, and teacher. |
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| By Georgia Heard and Aaron DeWitt ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ A perfect bedtime read, this playful collection of poems—peppered with an astounding variety of animal sounds—is meant to be read aloud together. |
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| By Amy Ludwig VanDerwater ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Twenty-three poems capture the joys of reading. This poetry explores what reading does—how it opens minds, can make you kind and allows you to explore the whole world. |
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| By Jane Yolen ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This thought-provoking collection will evoke a sense of wonder and awe in readers, as they discover the mysterious world underneath us. |
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| By Elizabeth Steinglass ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Soccer fans will love this picture book featuring twenty-two imaginative poems that capture all aspects of the world’s most popular sport. |
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| By Lee Bennett Hopkins ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Fifteen poems selected by poet and anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins celebrate all of the grown-ups that children encounter during the course of a school day. |
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| By Brianna Caplan Sayres ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ When Asteroid and her parents get stuck in outer space for Passover, Asteroid plans a Passover seder for herself and her family that is truly out-of-this-world. |
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| By April Halprin Wayland and Katie Kath ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This picture book interprets the word “Dayenu,” traditionally used in the Passover seder, as being “grateful for the blessings in each moment”; a sibling pair repeats it as they joyfully prepare for and celebrate the holiday. |
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| By Jane Yolen ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Giving her baby brother a kiss, brave little Miriam places Moses’s basket into the river. With one quick push, she sends him into the water, hoping her wish will come true and her brother will be saved from Pharaoh’s orders. But will Pharaoh’s daughter arrive in time to rescue him? |
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| By Leslea Newman ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This is the story of Passover through the eyes of a little boy. As he and his family celebrate the holiday in the warmth and comfort of home, we see a hungry, cold kitten living outside. When the family opens the door for Elijah, they find a fluffy surprise! |
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| By Deborah Bodin Cohen ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This book tells the story of Nachshon, the first person to step into the Red Sea as it began to part. The boy was terrified of water, but he gathered his courage to help lead his people out of the sights of the approaching Egyptians. |
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| By Lucille Colandro ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Another fun variation on the classic rhyme about an old lady who swallowed a chick and a series of other strange items before encountering a large surprise. |
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| The Good Egg Presents: The Great Eggscape! (The Food Group) By Jory John and Pete Oswald ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Good Egg and his pals escape their carton and drop into the store for a morning of fun, enjoyed by everybody. Well almost everybody. Shel (an egg) isn’t a huge fan of group activities, especially when he’s made to be “It” for a game of hide-and-seek. Nevertheless, Shel doesn’t want to let his friends down, so he reluctantly plays, anyway. But after a morning of hiding and seeking, somebody’s still missing. Will the dozen egg friends ever be reunited? |
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| By Mary Jane Auch ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Pauline, the hen, lays eggs that are “different.” Her owner, Mrs. Pennywort, is excited about the colorful eggs and plans to sell them for an Easter egg hunt. Alas, the eggs hatch; Pauline refuses to give up her brood, and the colorful chicks grow into colorful hens who lay colorful eggs. |
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| By Jan Brett ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Hoppi the bunny wants to win the egg-decorating contest so the Easter Bunny will choose him to help distribute Easter eggs, but instead, while everyone else is working on their decorations, he finds himself guarding an egg that has fallen from a robin’s nest. |
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| By Adam Wallace ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him. |
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Doing Some Holiday Shopping Online? |
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| Reading Allowed participates in the United Way’s Donor Choice Program. Our Donor Code is 55108 |
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