“I like super hero stories and animal stories. Sometimes books make me laugh, or sometimes they make you sad. I like the author Walter Dean Myers. Sometimes I wonder: how did he know about my life well enough to write about it?”
-Clayton, age 12
 BOOKS FOR BOYS is an innovative literacy initiative designed to change the lives of children through books. Books for Boys is committed to the idea that one does well what one loves to do. With the help of a caring network of readers and mentors, the boys begin to see themselves as readers too. Books for Boys encourages these first steps, then nourishes the boys as readers. Books for Boys is about falling in love with books and becoming a lifelong reader and writer.
Click here to read some of our boys’ poetry.
The Books for Boys program was founded by Pam Allyn, a literacy expert who has worked with both The Children’s Village and its campus school Greenburgh Eleven for many years.
BOOKS FOR BOYS PROJECTS
Cottage Libraries
Books for Boys is developing collections for each cottage based on the boys’ interests and reading levels. Financial support for Books for Boys helps to cover the cost of new books representing a variety of genre, as well as bookshelves and better reading lights.
Reading Mentors
Volunteers come regularly to The Children’s Village to read aloud to the boys. As Director Pam Allyn says, “Of course we are boosting reading skills, but first we are teaching a relationship to reading. It’s about the intimacy, fun, excitement, and joy of sharing a wonderful book.” For many of the children, it is the first time anyone has ever read to them.
 The Visiting Author Series
Books for Boys brings authors and illustrators to The Children’s Village to give readings. The visiting authors discuss their work, answer questions, and autograph copies of their books for the boys to keep.
The Amherst College Internship Program
Each year, a team of students from Amherst College spends the summer at The Children’s Village, living on campus and working with the boys on their reading and writing, both in the cottages and in the classroom. The experience is inspiring for the boys and for the college students.
Birthday Book Project
Many children have never owned a book. Books for Boys is creating a Birthday Book Fund, which would provide each boy with a book of his own for his birthday.
The Books for Boys Campus Library
Books for Boys has established an on-campus library, so the boys have a quiet, peaceful place to read and to explore books.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
- Donate new books or used books in good condition to the Books for Boys cottage libraries.
- Become a Books for Boys volunteer. Read aloud to a group of boys or work one on one with a child or teenager who is learning to read.
- Contribute funds towards a new project or to support existing projects.
- Hold a New Book Drive
Books for Boys is a recipient of the 2005 and 2006 James Patterson Page Turner Awards. From the 1500 Nominations received, the Books For Boys Program was selected as one of 34 award winners for its innovative programming to help boys "feel like a part of a world of words, feel sustained by the power and pleasures of story, and become lifelong readers and writers."
For more information about the Page Turner Awards, please visit
www.pattersonpageturner.org
If you would like to read more about Books for Boys, go to www.amherst.edu/magazine/issues/03summer/bookbalm
|
