Judith’s Reading Room, a nonprofit literacy organization founded in 2010 in the memory of Judith Krug, a librarian, announced today the dedication of its 98th library in its 21st country in collaboration with a visionary and unstoppable elementary school teacher from a village on an island in north Greece.
The village of Potamia, on Thassos Island, did not have a community library, making it difficult for children to celebrate the joy of reading and to develop literacy skills. That was until Vicky Xanathopoulou reached out across oceans to apply online for the 2019 Judith’s Reading Room Freedom Through Literacy Award. Xanathopoulou won the coveted 2019 “Judith’s Award,” for which only teachers, librarians or authors are eligible. To augment her $500 cash prize, for which she flew to New York City to accept, the organization decided to help her establish a community library in her seaside village.
The 98th Judith’s Reading Room library is housed inside the historic Cultural Union of Polignotos Vagis stone building, originally used as a fishing sanctuary for monks. A museum, it hosts cultural events and will now house the community library. Judith’s Reading Room provided 75 children’s books in English. Villagers are augmenting the library by donating books from their home collections. All books will be available for loan and families will enjoy organized reading activities and book presentations. In all, 150 children will be served by the library.
“I’m so happy and grateful for the opportunity given by Judith’s Reading Room to the children of my village to have more reading and cultural experiences,” said Xanathopoulou.
The 2019 Freedom Through Literacy Award was held at Ammos Estiatorio, New York City on Saturday, September 28th. Each award ceremony has been special it is own, 2019s was an intimate gathering but very powerful with a special presentation by Robert Lucas spoke on what it was like opening 2 Judith’s Reading Room libraries in Cambodia, what the books meant to the children, and how books changed their lives. Alvin Irby, the Grand Prize winner brough three of his colleagues to share in the glory and our Judith’s Award winner, Vicky Xanthopoulou, traveled from Greece along with her husband to accept of her award. In addition to honoring the 2019 Freedom Through Literacy Award Winners, Judith’s Reading Room announced the establishment of the 98th Judith’s Reading Room Library in the Vicky Xanthopoulou’s village of Potamia on the Island of Thassos in North Greece. The initial donation will include 75 custom selected children’s titles. In 2020, the 99th library will be dedicated in Zimbabwe.
Empowering Global Communities to Create Positive Reading Experiences
From Allentown, St. Paul and New York City … To
Greece, Zimbabwe and Australia
July 27, 2019 — Lehigh Valley, Pa — Judith’s Reading Room
names “Barbershop Books,” as Grand Prize Winner of the 2019 Freedom Through
Literacy Award. Led by educator and
author Alvin Irby, based in New York City, Barbershop Books is a laser-focused
community-based program that creates child-friendly reading spaces in
barbershops involving Black men, Black boys and Black barbers. Irby believes that “early positive reading
experiences help children identify as readers and when children identify
as readers they are more likely to read for fun.” The Barbershop Books program currently has
child-friendly reading spaces in 140 barbershops across more than 30 cities and
20 states, reaching over 5,600 boys per month.
Books are selected by young Black boys and Irby’s program provides early
literacy training to barbers. For his
work, Irby is awarded the 2019 Grand Prize Award valued at $3,000.
The Judith’s Award — exclusive to teachers, librarians or
authors — names Vicky Xanthopoulou, originator of “Let’s Play Book,” its
2019 Judith’s Award recipient. The
elementary school teacher from Potamia Village, Thassos Island, North Greece
created the innovative project titled, “Let’s Play Book,” which combines in her
words, “the innate impulsion of children to play with the need to penetrate the
text and all book’s aspects.” “Let’s
Play Book” is the winner of numerous Greek literacy distinctions and is based
on reading animations designed to cultivate shared values for her
multi-cultural students. Her work is
essential: there is no lending library in
her village, so her original publications have proven to be essential in
providing basic literacy tools. For her
innovative, creative and passionate work in a village with no library, Judith’s
Reading Room awards Xanthopoulou the 2019 Judith’s Award valued at $500.
The Board Option Award with a total prize of $1,000 is shared
amongst four visionary individuals. The winners of the 2019 Board Option Award
are:
Karen Brown, Caring For Cats Shelter Volunteer, “Cat Tales
— Kids Reading to Cats,” based in North St. Paul, Minnesota. At this no-kill all volunteer cat shelter,
Brown provides books for children to read aloud to kitty cats while they
consider adoption. One mother wrote, “My
son’s fondness for reading is rather small.
But the spot in his heart for cats is quite large. I’m hopeful that this will help him learn to
love reading.” She writes, “we provide an entirely different setting where the
kitties and children are both primary program beneficiaries.” Brown is awarded a 2019 Board Option prize
valued at $300.
Kathleen Kapila, Librarian, Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT
Community Center, “LGBT Children’s Literacy:
Drag Queen Story Hour” based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. “The connection between community and
literacy is especially true for people with marginalized identities,” the
application states. Drag Queen story
hours, in which drag performers read books to children, encouraging a love of
reading and freedom of gender expression, speaks to the heart of the Freedom
Through Literacy Award and to the life-work of Judith Krug, in whose memory
Judith’s Reading Room was created. As
founder of Banned Books Week over 40 years ago, Krug’s favorite book to read
aloud in elementary classrooms was And Tango Makes Three, a story of two
male penguins raising a chick. Kapila is
awarded a 2019 Board Option prize valued at $300.
Sue Goatley, nonprofit leader, Children in the Wilderness,
for her support of “St. Mary’s Primary School Library Enrichment Project,” based
in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. In the
Hwange Region, where there is nowhere to buy books, St. Mary’s Primary School
is a haven for its 845 students who rely on the school for opening up their
world through books. We recognize Sue
Goatley for her work to provision a library in a country that does not provide
government support for rural educational resource needs and for recognizing
that even if the child cannot read, the idea of a book is “such an exciting
prospect for them.” Goatley is awarded a
2019 Board Option prize valued at $200.
Kulasekara Mudiyanselage Chanith Wijeratne, Author and
Illustrator, for his project “Promoting Conservation Through Inspired Reading,”
Essendon, Victoria, Australia. Chanith,
at the age of six, published Wildlife of Udawalawe National Park at Lens
Range — the first-ever book about this globally popular National Park in
Sri Lanka.Wijeratne has since
completed 10 books on the wildlife of Sri Lanka, Australia and South Africa. His attitude toward literacy is clear: “being
able to read and write prepares us well to serve fellow human beings.” We recognize Chanith Wijeratne, who is in
Grade 12, as an accomplished author, naturalist, and role model for other
children. Wijeratne is awarded a 2019
Board Option prize valued at $200.
Judith’s Reading Room mission is to enrich lives and societies
by proactively encouraging freedom through literacy. To date, the organization has fulfilled that
mission by establishing 97 libraries in 20 countries (and counting!) with
128,000 books donated valued at nearly $1.4 million dollars. The Freedom Through Literacy Award, initiated
in 2015 as the organization’s signature event, has disbursed $33,500 in prize
money, honoring 31 individual champions of literacy in the United States, the
Philippines, Bhutan, Pakistan, Rwanda, Cambodia, Mexico, Australia, Zimbabwe
and Greece.
Spread the word about Judith’s Reading Room’s 2019 Freedom Through Literacy Award by sharing and posting our flyer. Please download the flyer to print
The 5th annual Judith’s Reading Room “Freedom Through Literacy” Award will honor individual champions of literacy from all disciplines around the world — teachers, librarians, authors, researchers, educators — anyone who has done exemplary work to instill in others a love of reading.
We ask that you please make a donation to Judith’s Reading Room, in support of our ongoing recognition of what is being accomplished in the great world of literacy, as well as funding our shipment of children’s books, both domestically and internationally.
The village of Potamia, on Thassos Island, did not have a community library, making it difficult for children to celebrate the joy of reading and to develop literacy skills. That was until Vicky Xanathopoulou reached out across oceans to apply online for the 2019 Judith’s Reading Room Freedom Through Literacy Award. Xanathopoulou won the coveted 2019 “Judith’s Award,” for which only teachers, librarians or authors are eligible. To augment her $500 cash prize, for which she flew to New York City to accept, the organization decided to help her establish a community library in her seaside village.
