NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT: Cathy Leiber
www.JudithsReadingRoom.org
Judith’s Reading Room Dedicates its 109th library
Collection Advances Mentorship Program in Toledo, Ohio
February 3, 2025 — Judith’s Reading Room, a nonprofit literacy organization based in eastern Pennsylvania announced today that it inaugurated its 109th library In collaboration with Read for Literacy’s Real Men READ-y mentorship program in Toledo, Ohio. Dr. Romulus Durant, Superintendent for Toledo Public Schools urged the students to strive for success through reading at the MLK Academy for Boys celebration.
The 109th library is a distinguished part of Judith’s Reading Room’s 15th anniversary celebration, “15 Libraries to Celebrate Its 15th Anniversary in 2025” that includes new or enhanced Judith’s Reading Room libraries on 4 continents, spanning 4 oceans and serving thousands of kids.
The collection of 88 books with a cover price of $1,205 was curated by award-winning children’s author Ty Allan Jackson and includes Caldecott Medal and Newbery Award winners — all chosen to ignite the imagination of kindergarten Black boys who are mentored in reading on a weekly basis. A sample of book titles includes: Alexander’s The Undefeated, De La Pena’s Last Stop on Market Street, and Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are.
Under the direction of Diana Bush, Executive Director, Read for Literacy, the Real Men READ-y program pairs African American professional men with Black boys in kindergarten. The MEN-tors visit schools each week and read aloud with the children one-on-one. The program seeks to improve literacy rates and, more important, it provides positive male MEN-tors for young Black boys.
Children from low-income families start kindergarten with a distinct disadvantage when it comes to reading, vocabulary and comprehension. The 1995 seminal study by Hart & Risley found that kids from low-income families are exposed to approximately 30 million fewer words by age 3 compared to kids from mid- or high-income families. Compounding the problem is that low-income families are less likely to engage their children in conversations that use complex vocabulary as compared with mid-income families.
“The Real Men READ-y program aims to create equal opportunities for all children by offering books that promote rhyming, alliteration, and vocabulary development through the training of MEN-tors who read aloud to the children, and by gifting books to help them start their first home libraries. The program fosters a love of reading and empowers young minds,” said Diana Bush.
In addition to providing outstanding literature for the Real Men READ-y program, Judith’s Reading Room will sponsor two “Book of the Month” selections where children master reading a book over the course of a month and then are invited to take the book home for “keeps.” The two books selected by Judith’s Reading Room are Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day and Ty Allan Jackson’s Danny Dollar Millionaire Extraordinaire ‘The Lemonade Escapade.‘
Ty Allan Jackson, award-winning children’s book author and literacy advocate, first came to the attention of Judith’s Reading Room in 2020 when he won the organization’s ‘Freedom Through Literacy’ Judith’s Award and then again in 2023 when he won the organization’s ‘Freedom Through Literacy’ Grand Prize Award for his Danny Dollar Entrepreneur Fair. At today’s inauguration, Jackson urged the young boys to become “soldiers of reading.”
Ty Jackson & Cathy Leiber, President, Judith’s Reading Room, in conversation
Cathy: Tell me how you approached the project of selecting a dynamic collection of books for young Black boys in Toledo, Ohio?
Ty: When I was asked to curate the Judith’s Reading Room library for Toledo’s Real Men READ-y program, my first thought was to make sure not every book was a ‘black book.’ “My love of reading grew from books I wasn’t familiar with — that stretched me outside my normal reading — like the classics, technology, stuff about everything, books that have been translated into movies. I chose a colorful palette of books.”
Award winning children’s author, Ty Allan Jackson curated the collection for Real Men READ-y
Judith’s Reading Room
Judith’s Reading Room selected Read for Literacy’s Real Men READ-y Program as part of its bold initiative to dedicate 15 new or enhanced libraries in 2025 in honor of the organization’s “15 Libraries to Celebrate Its 15th Anniversary in 2025.”
The 15 Libraries and their Dedication Dates
1. Bright School/TEACH Rwanda, Muhanga, Rwanda — January 7
2. Escuela Agustin Flores Contreras, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico — January 15
3. Read for Literacy, “Real Men READ-y,” Toledo, Ohio — February 3
4. Avery Chapel AME Church, Southaven, Mississippi — February 15
5. Watch Me Grow Learning Academy, Grenada, Mississippi — February 15
6. Mosaic Preparatory Academy, East Harlem, New York — March 14
7. Louisiana Methodist Family & Children’s Services, Ruston, Louisiana — April 1
8. Harkins House, Portland, Oregon — April 4
9. Heavy Sound, Edinburgh, Scotland — May 30
10. James Prendergast Free Library, Jamestown, New York — July 31
11. Chinle Planting Hope, Navajo Nation, Chinle, Arizona — November 1
12. Kirioruwa School, Marabedda, Bandarawela, Sri Lanka — TBD
13. Vhulakanjhani Primary School, South Africa — TBD
14. Janata Aadharbhut Vidhyalaya School, Kathmandu, Nepal — TBD
15. Shree Prasad Singh Ma. Vi, Kathmandu, Nepal — TBD
The 109th Judith’s Reading Room library was made possible, in part, by a generous contribution from Ohio residents Gene and Mary Jo Hardy who met the organization’s founders, Cathy & Scott Leiber, last summer at Chautauqua Institution. The Hardy’s are also credited with introducing Judith’s Reading Room to Diana Bush, Executive Director, Read for Literacy.
Judith’s Reading Room, a 501 (c) 3 global literacy organization was founded in 2010 in the memory of Judith F. Krug, a distinguished librarian and cousin to the founders. Its mission is: “To enrich lives and societies by proactively encouraging freedom through literacy.” It has achieved that mission by dedicating 109 libraries in 25 countries with nearly 134,000 books donated valued at more than $1.4 million dollars.
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