Reflection

Student Voices: Reading Benefits from Alexa S., Maddie M., Brenda O., and Cecilia G.

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Reading Benefits

“Psychological Benefits of Reading” by Alexa S., 7th grade

Reading helps us with many things, and many of them have to do with psychology, so today I am here to tell you some of the amazing psychological benefits of reading.

What Is Psychology? And what does it have to do with reading?

Psychology is the study of the human mind and behavior. Now that you know that, you might be asking yourself, what does the human mind have to do with reading? Well, most people don’t read books out loud, they read it in their minds. Here is where psychology connects with reading, books positively affect our brains. Some help with mental health challenges and diseases, basically depending if the book is good or not. While many people might feel like reading is boring, it actually helps you distract yourself from daily worries and problems, almost as if taking a break from the world surrounding you. Suddenly all you care about is if the main character in the book is going to be killed or survive the killer.

What studies show

A study published in 2016 from Yale University shows that “people who read 3.5 hours per week or more, lived 23 more months than an average person who doesn’t read.” Which shows that reading can improve your life, and time on earth. The study was performed with around 3,635 people, they were all separated into three different groups, the ones who didn’t read at all, the ones who read for 3 and a half hours, and those who read more than 3 and a half hours, they all had to answer “How many hours did you spend last week reading books?”. “More than 12 years later, those who read at least 3 and a half hours per week were proved to be 17% less likely to die, and the ones who read the most were 23% less likely to die” People who read books were scientifically proven to have an average of 2-years longer life-span, than those  who didn’t read at all.

Reading books reduces stress

Many different studies have shown that reading books reduces stress and narrative transportation, which just means getting really involved in the book, that you feel things like happiness, sadness, and others. Reading books usually helps people with the way they deal with their problems, reading encourages people to use their strengths, and re-enforces their sense of identity. “Reading about positive psychology actually helps with psychological resilience.” Says the article. “Resciliency” is just a big word for how people recover quickly from adversity. Positive psychological resiliency could help maintain good mental and social connections. Some literacy articles show that books sometimes stimulate the person’s inner positive thoughts and feelings, which could lead to a better mental health and an upswing in their lifestyles.

Conclusion

In conclusion, reading has many important psychological benefits that can help improve our minds. It can reduce stress, increase focus, and help us understand other people’s feelings and perspectives. Reading also strengthens our imagination and helps us get distracted from our daily worries and stress. Because of all these benefits, taking time to read, even if it’s just once in a while, can make a big difference in our daily lives, like living longer. So, picking up a good book every now and then is a great habit that can help us grow and feel better overall.

“The Importance of Reading to Children” by Maddie M., 8th grade

I’d like to consider myself an avid reader, and I have been that way since a young age. In fact, a key memory from my early childhood is going to the library and attending storytime. You might think that reading with or to young children is just another way to entertain them. However, there are many benefits, such as improving cognitive development and fostering a relationship between the reader and the child. 

Cognitive Development

To start, one benefit of reading to children is that it supports their cognitive development. Studies show that children who are exposed to reading and books before entering preschool are more likely to succeed in their later education and have a larger vocabulary. This could mean that if you don’t introduce reading to your child early on, they may have a harder time reading and learning in general once they enter school. Furthermore, the Child Mind Institute says, “By reading to your child starting at a young age, even before they’re able to communicate verbally, you help lay the neurological groundwork for effective language use and literacy. That’s partly because books expose children to vocabulary and grammar that they wouldn’t normally hear.” To elaborate, reading to your child, especially books about real-world situations or unique topics, can teach them more words. For example, a book about the zoo would have more unique words that children wouldn’t hear in day-to-day conversations. 

Strengthening Relationships

In addition, reading to children strengthens and fosters relationships between the reader and the child. Raleigh Pediatrics says that infants’ hearing their parents’ voices while reading to them promotes their emotional well-being and strengthens their attachment to their parents. So, reading to your child can improve their ability to handle tough situations in the future and build resilience to stress. Secondly, Dr. Phillips states, “The physical contact that you get from being held by your parent while you’re reading actually helps to engage neurons in the brain, which make kids more receptive to the language and the cognitive stimulation that they’re getting from that experience.” This shows how family bonding time can actually become a learning opportunity!

Resources

Need assistance with incorporating books into your routine or want to reach out to an expert?

1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a non-profit charity. Their goal is to improve children’s reading skills by encouraging them to read 1000 books before entering kindergarten. Many communities and libraries in the United States and Canada have established this program. 1000 Books Before Kindergarten even has its own app where you can track the books you read. Their website is 1000booksbeforekindergarten.org.

Additionally, Reach Out and Read is a non-profit organization. During a child’s well visits, they work with parents and teach them important things, such as the best way to hold a book when reading to their child. They offer advice and vital information about why it is important to read to children. During visits, they provide the family with a free book to take home. They offer these books in 38 different languages! Their website is https://reachoutandread.org.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, reading to children is important and has many benefits. These benefits include the ability to strengthen the relationship between parents and children and the added cognitive development. There are many organizations to assist with this task, like Reach Out and Read and 1000 Books before Kindergarten. Additionally, since I was read to a lot as a child, I can say that it has made me love reading and has definitely influenced my life and who I am now. So, whether you and your child are at library storytime or reading the Percy Jackson books, make sure to educate the future leaders of our world!

Sources

James, Sini. “Benefits of Starting Reading at a Young Age.” Www.nationwidechildrens.org, 4 Nov. 2022, www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2022/11/benefits-of-starting-reading.

“Benefits of Reading to Your Children | Raleigh Pediatrics.” Raleigh Pediatrics, 8 Oct. 2025, raleighpediatrics.com/importance-of-reading-to-children/.‌

Sheldon-Dean, Hannah. “Why Is It Important to Read to Your Child?” Child Mind Institute, Child Mind Institute, 19 Jan. 2023, childmind.org/article/why-is-it-important-to-read-to-your-child/.

“How Can Books Help Distract Us From Real Life?” by Brenda O., 7th grade

Some people may think that books can only help you learn how to read, BUT that is definitely not the case. Reading books has way more benefits than just learning how to read, but do you know them? In this article, we are going to talk about some ways that books can help us live our lives better.

If you have any economic issues, family issues, or something stressing you, read a book, maybe even an audiobook. Reading a book can distract you and take you to another world, a world where you can concentrate on another person’s story and your own. Just for a moment, try to read a book, complete it, and see just how interesting it can be to get out of your own story and start another. It’s good to sometimes forget about reality, it can be a way of learning about another point of view, or just looking for entertainment.

Reading can also help you fall asleep. There are thousands of books that talk about relaxation or are relaxing. Another way can be silencing your thoughts with a good story. Sometimes, I have trouble sleeping because my thoughts keep me awake, so a solution I found was reading a book before sleeping. The book made me stop overthinking stuff and forget my problems, and made me think about the story and how it could end, or how I need to read the other series of it. 

“Reading promotes mindfulness, or the ability to live in the moment. It pulls our attention away from unwanted or worrying thoughts and helps to focus on the present.” It’s a quote from Henry Ford Health telling us how reading can also promote mindfulness, which means that you are more aware and present in the real world and are able to enjoy the good things in life and ignore the negative things.

Reading has helped me a lot with stress and tuning out negative thoughts, and I’m sure that it has helped a lot of other people, so it can help YOU! The real world can indeed be scary or stressful, so just take a moment to read a book and see how wonderful it is to take your mind off what is happening and relax.

“How Reading Books Can Help You on Your Daily Life“ by Cecilia G., 8th grade

Reading books is an interesting way to learn and help with your mental health, not only you will be learning so much you will also see improvement in many occasions in your daily life. There are many reasons why reading can help you develop in your daily life and help you in many situations, not only at school but everywhere else.

  • Reading reduces stress

Studies show that reading daily can help you get more relaxed and reduce stress. A study by the University of Sussex demonstrated that six minutes of silent reading can reduce stress levels by 68 per cent. (source)

  • Reading helps with sleep

Reading can help with many health problems that may be showing up in your sleep. The main reason is the decrease in stress, anxiety and muscular tension associated with reading. Helping you relax and unwind before sleep can make a difference in being able to push aside anxious thoughts and allow your consciousness to drift off. (source)

  • Builds vocabulary

Reading can not only help with learning new words, it also keeps children interested in all the new things they are learning about. Reading aloud with children allows for exposure to sophisticated language and content that might be above their independent reading level, but not above their interest level.  (source)

  • Helps building memory

It can help your brain with your memory since your brain actively encodes and stores information, creating new connections between neurons. Visualizing scenes, characters, and details from a story engages the brain’s sensory regions, enhancing memory retention through vivid mental imagery. (source)

  • Strengthens writing skills

When reading you can learn new vocabulary which for children, reading offers them a window into how authors write. It offers a study in different genres, styles, tones, and use of different vocabulary words. (source)

  • Improves critical thinking skills

When children spend a lot of time reading, they strengthen their ability to think about something from another point of view and to problem solve for someone outside of themselves. Finding solutions to a character’s problem helps children to think through other issues around them with similar discernment. (source)

  • Strengthens your brain

One 2020 study found that increased gray matter in the left superior temporal cortex part of the brain was associated with better reading performance in children. Gray matter plays a role in cognitive function. (source)

In conclusion, reading does a big part in your life. By helping with improving your mental health, thinking skills, vocabulary, and many other reasons listed above. Reading can not only be entertaining and fun as a hobby, it can also make your life a lot better by giving you many sorts of help.

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their look at the benefits of reading!

Student Voices: Reflections on the Current State of the World from Livie S. and Edie M.

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Reflections on the Current State of the World

What prohibits schools from having an active school library? by Livie, 7th grade

Most schools around the United States have a library, but it’s even better if they have an active one. Libraries are essential for student growth in their education. There are many reasons that affect a school library’s ability to do this though. Currently in the United States, there have been many budget cuts and natural events that have had an impact on the library society. In this blog post, I will be discussing many aspects that have an effect on school libraries, and what an active school library consists of

Why Libraries are Important

We are all told that libraries are important at some point or another by various people but the question still remains: WHY? They boost student learning and help to build a closer school community. Libraries are fundamental in the growth of a student and their school career. Studies have proven this, from 2007-2008 having more school libraries that host events like literacy week and are an active part in the well-being of the school, test scores increased drastically, the typical student that would usually be seen getting a 70-80 on standardized literary tests was now seen getting a 90-100. 

Defining the Term

What does it mean by active school library? Active school libraries are libraries that are taking part in school functions such as literacy night. It could also be things as little as taking into consideration what books students would want to read. By taking into consideration I mean having books in libraries that are not only new but also interesting. These are just many ways to define what an active school library really is. 

Budget Cuts

A lot of libraries across America are suffering from budget cuts. This is not just limited to school libraries but does have an effect on them. On Monday, February 10th, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order at the White House that would mandate the reduction of seven governmental agencies, one of which included the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Systems) and the Department of Education. The IMLS is a government agency that regulates and funds the country’s libraries and museums while the Department of Education ensures that schools across the country are giving their students what they need. Reducing these agencies means making them smaller, which in turn would mean cutting libraries all across the U.S. This is very important to schools because some of their libraries fall under the category of being cut in the reduction. Seminole County Schools in Florida are primarily without librarians because of this. Yes, while the students still have access to libraries, many do not have an actual librarian or dedicated full-time staff in the library. This affects having an active school library because how can there be events if there is no dedicated librarian to set up events. On another note, because of the ILMS and DOE funding being cut, several school libraries are without a clerk, deeply affecting the library setting because now all jobs are placed on the librarian’s shoulders. 

Expectations of Student Learning

While all of this is happening students are still expected to get high test scores. If students do not have the adequate resources at their usage how is it fair to expect this. It is scientifically proven that students with access to resources in a school library perform higher on tests. Many books in the library would have words a student may not have seen before and that is to their benefit; it leads them to ask questions or even look it up. This helps students grow their vocabulary and comprehension skills. Nonfiction books exist to inform people about the real world. While fiction is a great escape from reality… reality is still there and students, and especially adults, need to be informed. History books are especially crucial to make sure that history does not repeat itself (although that may be happening). 

Expectations on Librarians Themselves

Sometimes, or rather most times, librarians are expected to be more than just a librarian. They are expected to host many events throughout the year, such as setting up picture day, distributing laptops, state testing, and even writing the school newsletter. These jobs by themselves wouldn’t be too much to ask of a staff member because most of them happen at different times throughout the year but to also expect librarians to maintain the inviting atmosphere of the library and be an educator within the school while doing these tasks every week/month is unreasonable. While picture day and distributing laptops is not a weekly thing, yearbooks and weekly newsletters are. The librarians may also be asked to sub for other classes if that class is without a sub thus leaving the library unable to be attended or open on that day. Essentially, librarians are being treated not as teacher with a daily job but as disposable. You shouldn’t ask a teacher to stop teaching that day’s lesson just because they needed some copies made or someone to handle behavior, but sadly that is what is happening to most librarians across the U.S. Most libraries are called a media center because the title makes it so that the librarians can be called media specialists, expanding the jobs they can be asked to do. 

Statistics: Decrease in Librarians

Covid has had a big effect on the school librarian population. A study was done in 2020-2021 to reflect this and here are some of the facts from this study. 

  • 29.5% of schools across America reported not having librarians or not having a designated staff member for the library. 
  • Seven out of ten charter schools are without a full time librarian
  • 37.8% of western schools were without librarians, while southern schools had 22.2% of schools without librarians. 
  • Smaller schools (less than 200 students) were more likely to have their library cut
  • Bigger schools (2,000+ students) had an increase in the number of schools without librarians 10.8% to 16.3% 
  • 34.9% of city schools reported no librarian
  • 29.5% of town schools had no librarian
  • 57% of combined schools (k-8, k-12) had no librarian or library program at all
  • 33.8% of hispanic schools had no librarians
  • 32.5% of poverty serving schools (schools that their main population are students living in poverty) are without a librarian
  • The states with the highest percentage of schools without librarians are: Alaska(55.2%), Minnesota(50.6%), Hawaii(50.2%), West Viginia(50%), Michigan(49.9%). 

These facts are quite sad because literacy is an important part of student learning. Librarians are the fundamental base for a good library and without them libraries are unable to thrive as much as a library with a librarian.

Comparatives

Examples of an active school library and what it looks like:

Hunter’s Creek Middle School (the school I go to) has one of the most active school libraries I can think of and one of the most active school librarians. Yes, I am a little biased but there is evidence to support this. Every year we have an author visit the school, this year we had three, but we still have at least one every year. This is to “advertise” reading to the students. As students visit the author in their ELA classes they get an in person talk with the author. I, for one, have certainly been encouraged to read these authors’ books after I have seen them. Another example is that we host literacy night every year for the coming author to encourage their books. We have rooms set up around the campus that are related to the author’s books. This year, we invited the 5th graders from their elementary school so that they could walk around the school and get familiar with our campus. We also have a Google form where students can fill out what books they would like to see in our library. Although, it does take some time to get these books in the library, the books almost always end up in our library. On another note, there is a reading challenge called Eagle Super Reader that is a paper that you fill out with twenty-five books you’ve read throughout the year and get prizes plus an end of year party. This really encourages kids to read because who wouldn’t want to skip school for a day and hang out in the library? This is just a little bit of the whole lot Ms. Moye does for our library and our school. All of these things and events she sets up all help make reading a little more fun for the students. They help to encourage students to read more, expanding their vocabulary and making them more educated. This is one example of an active school library and its effect on the students of which it serves.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, active school libraries are an excellent resource to have but there are certain obstacles that lessen one’s ability to do so. Such as budget cuts and the absence of a full-time librarian. There are schools that have been able to pull this off though, and that has greatly impacted student learning and reading capabilities. All in all, having an active school library is an amazing thing that I hope more students will get the opportunity to have in their educational careers.

Is The Hunger Games our future? by Edie, 8th grade

After reading Layla N.s’ post from last year (https://www.unleashingreaders.com/29146) I was inspired to expand, in light of more recent events (mid 2025-now) like issues regarding much more pressing matters. Such as a major increase in wrongful/ unjust (no fair trial) or violent deportations and racism by ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement), there has also been an increase homelessness and inadequate housing all over the world that was not discussed in the previous post. There has also been another development since the first post; the announced Patriot Games happening summer 2026, which provide many parallels to The Hunger Games universe. The Hunger Games is a dystopian book series converted into movies. Here is a short summary of the plot: There are 12 districts in the country of Panem (originally 13 districts, just like the original 13 colonies!). The Capitol controls all of the districts, in an elected dictatorship type of way, and Panem (the country with all the districts/where The Hunger Games take place) is run with an extremely tyrannical government. Each district provides something for the Capitol, however they cannot trade with other districts, and are forbidden to leave the one they were born in.. Except if they are reaped. The reaping was installed after the districts rebelled against the Capitol and failed, as a punishment for them. The reaping is a part of The Hunger Games, in which the reaping is how they get there. To remind them that the Capitol is always stronger, but also to remind them how “generous” they are. I will explain more of The Hunger Games in their comparison section to the upcoming Patriot Games, but for now that is where I will end the summary. The 3 topics during this post are: Law Enforcement, The Hunger Games vs. The Patriot Games, and Quality of Life. 

Law Enforcement

In this section of the post I will be showing and comparing the law enforcement in The Hunger Games vs. The law enforcement in the U.S.. Starting off, the image on the upper right shows people protesting against ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement). President Trump thought this was un-American and deployed the National Guard (to go against their own country!), just because of people simply exercising their 1st amendment rights. The image below shows a similar circumstance, but in The Hunger Games. Peacekeepers (who are the law enforcement in the books), are holding back people protesting against The Hunger Games (also fighting against their own country). 

Continuing to the images on the left, both show law enforcement officers holding down protesters, who were later shot dead by those same officers. The one on top shows Alex Pretti, who was filming a detaining by ICE, and mere minutes later, was killed by them. He approached a vehicle with his phone, recording a conflict (he was not prior involved in) with ICE agents. After the person ICE was having a conflict with ran into Alex for safety during the protest, the ICE agent took him as a threat. The agent immediately pepper sprayed him to the ground, and more ICE agents held him and started hitting him. Once the agents removed his (Alex Prettis’) legal carrying firearm, they decided he was still a threat; beaten and bloodied. They then brought out one of their own guns and shot him 10 times.The image below that shows an unnamed man in The Hunger Games series being lifted up on stage, and later shot, because he used a sign of rebellion: lifting the 3 middle fingers and whistling a tune from their district (the same district where a 12 year old girl got murdered in The Hunger Games: District 11). The constitution most likely does not matter/ no longer exist in The Hunger Games universe and it was probably legal for Peacekeepers to do this. It is not legal today. Though the 2 situations are awfully similar: murdered because of protesting. Why are our Constitutional rights slowly disappearing?

The Hunger Games v.s The Patriot Games

“The Patriot Games” “The Hunger Games”. One. Word. Off. The Patriot Games is an event President Trump announced for 2026, to celebrate America’s 250th year of freedom from Great Britain. They require 1 male and 1 female tribute from each state. These tributes for being the top high school student athlete in the state (you read that right; high school; children). Then, they will go to the capital (D.C.) and fight for their (the Capitals) entertainment, and it is unstated whether this will continue annually. The Hunger Games was created by the capitol after the districts lost a rebellion/war to them. It was to show them that they were superior, and was like an annual punishment. The rules were that 1 male and 1 female (ages 12-18) will be reaped (chosen) from each territory. Reaping day was on July 4th/Americas’ Independence Day. The parallels are obvious. 1 male and 1 female child selected from each territory to go fight in the Capitol, for the Capitols enjoyment. Now what happens to the tributes in the Patriot games who do not win is unstated, whether they get anything, or just go home. Luckily it is not a fight to death scenario , but the winners are bathed in riches just as the victor in The Hunger Games. These rules play into what the Capitol stated in The Hunger Games, ruling that the games are used to show that they will always be more powerful, and then the winner being shown mercy and money is a reminder of their “generosity”.

Quality of Life

Next, quality of life in the world now versus quality of life in the districts. Starting off, world hunger is a very prominent issue and affects almost 1/10th of the population. Homelessness affects roughly 3% of the world population. These problems lead to awful living in many countries (as shown in the image on the upper right). In the districts from The Hunger Games, specifically district 12, we see lots of horrible living conditions along with many people starving. We even see this in the main character herself (Katniss Everdeen), nearly starving to death, simply because her district didn’t get enough rations for the winter. We also see people living on the streets, or in extremely small and damaged homes (upper left photo), much like present day poverty which affects 9% of the population. Through these we see many similarities with the way people live in these 2 worlds; on the worse side of it.

Now with people on the better side; I am going to compare citizens in the Capitol of Panem, and the billionaires of our world. The amount of rich people in Panem compared to the amount of people in the districts (living in lesser quality of life) is miniscule, yet they rule the country. They usually have ridiculously pricey houses, and outfits (lower left photo). The billionaires in our world are also extremely few (3000 out of more than 8 billion people!). Our billionaires normally have expensive extravagant clothing and homes (lower right), much like the capitol people. Though in small quantities, they have huge influences on our world, through them affecting political standpoints with money. The people who donate are in the 100s; yet every single one of them could obviously spare some of their money that could make a huge difference, but somehow, they are taxed less.

Conclusion

When reading or watching The Hunger Games( or if you haven’t read or watched the series, I hope this post convinced you to do so) you sided with the resistance to The Games/ Capitol right? Why are people still supporting the current state of our country and world when they can clearly see where we could be headed? The similarities between the two universes ( our Earth and The Hunger Games world) are apparent. As of right now, the amount of states in the U.S. who support this is decreasing, but there are still some who will do nothing but praise our way of life. Like in Mockingjay (3rd book in The Hunger Games) in District 2, where loyalty to the Capitol runs deep, they were the last one to surrender and join the rebellion, before the resistance stormed the Capitol. It will take time, but I believe eventually everyone will join the resistance just like in Mockingjay and overthrow our upcoming tyrannical government. Suzanne Collins ( author of The Hunger Games) has said, she only writes when she has something to say. Now this raises a lot of “when will” questions, when will everyone join the resistance? When will we start listening to Suzannes’ writings? When will The Hunger Games become our reality?

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their look at the state of our world!

Student Voices: Reflections on School from Faten I., Ajani G., and Amber D.

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Reflections on School

“Student Literacy Leaders at HCMS” by Faten, 8th grade

As students we have very important jobs, one of these jobs is being helpful to others. One way me and many other students fulfill this trait is by taking a class called student literacy leaders.

What are student literacy leaders?

Student literacy leaders are students a part of Ms. Moye’s library class. As student literacy leaders, we help around the library by shelving books, doing a daily task (my class does recycling), doing fun projects, and checking out books to students, spreading the love of literacy, etc.

What does our daily routine look like?

  • At Hunter’s Creek Middle School we take pride in reading and logging on beanstack, so usually when we get to the library, we will start the day by logging 10-15 minutes on beanstack.Once we finish logging on beanstack me and my class mates will go and do our daily task.The daily task for my period is recycling. Me and my classmates will go around the library, collect all of the recycling and take it to the bins outside to the recycling. On Wednesdays we will do our Wednesday shelf. Wednesday shelves are when each student gets a shelf and every Wednesday we need to check them to make sure everything is organized and put in the correct place. Once we finish everything we might work on assignments we have, help around the library, or if there is nothing that needs to be done Ms. Moye will let us work on something for another class or give us free time.

Some projects we’ve done this year.

Every year we have an author come to our school to visit and give us a presentation. As student literacy leaders we help Mrs.Moye and Ms.H prepare for this visit by making projects and posters to put around the library and the school. Every year we have a door decorating contest, and this year for the library each period was in charge of making a certain part for the door. The door was based on Christina’s books. My class period got the books Return Fire and Moving Target. Every period needed to decorate a circle based on things that represented the book. Here’s a photo of the door:

We also had an individual project where we needed to make something that represented Christina or her books. Some people made posters, some people made drawings, some people (including myself) made dioramas. Here’s a picture of mine:

Me and my classmates have also worked on other projects together like coming up with games for students to play for literacy week, painting and decorating the main door of the library, and creating posters to hang up around the school encouraging reading and promoting some good books.

What does being a student literacy leader mean to me,and others?

Being a student literacy leader is so important to me because it’s not just about helping around the library, but it’s also learning how to be responsible, and learning how to help others with the right advice and patience.Taking this class has taught me so much. My reading skills have improved, the amount of books I’ve read has gone up drastically, and my ability to work with  others, especially bigger groups has gotten much better. Students around the school get to enjoy a comfortable and welcoming environment to read, and they also are able to get answers to the questions they might have. The students also get to partake in the fun activities we help put together for them. By student literacy leaders helping to maintain the library, we are also helping encourage other students to come check out books and enjoy reading.

All students in our school make a great and big impact, but student literacy leaders are a bit different. We are role models to many other students, and we help maintain the library, one of the most known places in our school where everyone comes to hangout and checkout books.

Being a student literacy leader is something so special. Getting to see other students happy, being in a welcoming place with beautiful diversity and decoration is such a lucky privilege because not too many schools get blessed with that. It helped me come a long way and I’m sure it did with many other students too.

“Things I Think Other Schools Should Have in Their Library that the HCMS’s Library has” by Ajani, 7th grade

  • Make a website on where to recommend books

The HCMS Library has a Google Form where students can recommend books to the librarian so they can get it for the student and other students too. Not all students have interest in the books that a library provides, and maybe there’s a couple of students who all want the same book/series and the school library does not have it.

  • Providing schools supplies

Some students may run out of supplies in the middle of the school year without knowing and then might not be able to get any, but in HCMS library there are pencils, pens, and bookmarks. It’s not much but it still helps and might come in handy for a student.

  • A system to look for books

Not every kid is gonna be able to find a book easily, that’s why in HCMS there is an app where you can type in a book or a genre and it will show you where it is and you can go find it. There should also be labels on the book and the app so they know where to find it exactly, and the books should be in order and not mixed up so it’s not mixed up and not being able to find them.

  • Author visits

Author visits can inspire students to become authors, and give some other students ideas for what they want to do in the future. The author explains deeper into the books that they made to show us the true meaning of this book, they also give us ideas on how to make a book, In 2026 Ms. Moye had Mark Oshipr, Christina Diaz Gonzalez, and Lindsay Currie come to HCMS for author visits! During Christina Diaz Gonzalez’s visit, she had explained that making a book doesn’t have to be as hard as it seems; she made a book from seeing a middle schooler going to Starbucks recently and ordering each drink with a different name so she made Concealed out of this idea beause it is about a girl and her parents who are in the Witness Protection Program, so she changes her name often so nobody knows her true identity. This book really made me interested in making books, and author visits in other schools could possibly give other students the same impact.

  • Supporting all students

Not alls tudents are the same identification, race, etc., and they might not always feel safe, but at HCMS, including the library, we have posters and signs showing that all are welcome and protected and for them to know it’s okay to be who they are.

  • Decorations

How would you feel if you had to go to school and see plain walls and colors that feel like they are screaming at you? It wouldn’t really feel nice. Being able to walk in a library that looks happy instead of just plain colors is so nice. People wouldn’t feel safe or welcome if a library just looked like a prison, it should look more colorful so students and teachers would not be scared to walk in.

  • Better chairs and outcome

Students may be unfocused on something when sitting in a chair that has no support and is uncomfortable for them. At HCMS, chairs in the library are more supportive and comfortable. Students are able to read in comfortable seats and not be distracted. Even changing the “normal” chairs leads to a good outcome. There will be more focusing in schools if they can take away the distractions from uncomfortable chairs.

We can help the students in our schools, we just need to think about what can help and make a good outcome for them.

“5 Habits That You Can Make Outside of School that Can Help Make School Better” by Amber, 8th grade

A school day can feel long and stressful but small changes in routines can make a difference. Students can create a more positive and productive school experience. These five changes that I will be talking about  would make the school day better and more organized for many students, including myself.

1. Use School Apps to Keep on Track

School Apps like Canvas, ClassLink, and Skyward help students keep track of assignments, grades, and announcements to keep them more on task and more organized. I use Canvas every morning/afternoon to check what’s due and what I have to do, and I use ClassLink to get into all my school apps quickly and efficiently! I feel way more organized and less stressed doing this and I would advise others to do the same to help them reach their full potential.

2. Set Alarms to Stay on Track

Students can set alarms for waking up, leaving for the bus, starting homework, taking breaks, checking messages, and getting ready for bed.This habits make you feel more put together and make you spend your day more productive and efficiently.

I use alarms after school to remind me to start homework, because if I don’t, I get distracted easily. I set an alarm at 5:00 PM to start my homework, and even though it’s simple, it helps me stay consistent.Alarms help students become more responsible and start a routine where they are staying consistent, not wasting any time bedrotting and feeling guilty for it.

3. Prioritize Healthy Habits

Eating a good breakfast improves energy and mood. I’ve noticed that on days when I actually eat breakfast, I feel more awake in class and feel more focused on my school work.Studys have shown that was the case too, that’s why teachers always advise students to eat before they take a test so they are more focused and do well.

Getting enough sleep or taking screen free breaks can help students refocus. These small choices make a big difference in how students feel throughout the day, ending their night with a smile on their face knowing they had a great day and many more ahead. Some healthy habits I do are putting down my phone at night so I can be well rested in the morning, so I can be more awake (especially in algebra).

4. Spend More Time Outdoors

Being outside reduces stress, increases creativity, and improves mood. Sometimes after school, I take a quick walk before starting homework, and it helps me.Fresh air helps students refresh after long periods of sitting in class. Outdoor learning can also make schoolwork feel more enjoyable.Some ways I get more outside in a school week is to go to my friend’s house or take a walk to the park.

5. Practice Positivity

Students who use positive thinking perform better academically and handle stress better.

One thing that helps me is celebrating small accomplishments can improve motivation. Positivity also spreads to others, helping others feel more included and welcome. There was this time where I was having a bad day and someone decided to make a random act of kindness, that made my day so much better than it was.You might regret being rude to someone, but you will never regret being nice to someone.

Conclusion

Improving the school day doesn’t always require big changes. By using school apps, setting alarms, building healthy habits, spending time outdoors, and being more positive. These habits help students feel more confident and make their school day/after school better.

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their reflections on school!

Student Voices: Lindsay Currie’s Visit to Kellee’s Middle School

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I am so lucky because my principal began an initiative at my school where we get to have an author visit our school yearly (2026: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 2025: George O’Connor, 2024: Jerry Craft, 2023: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 2022: Nathan Hale, 2020: Neal Shusterman, 2019: Jennifer A. Nielsen), and this year we ended up having THREE: Mark Oshiro in November, Christina Diaz Gonzalez (whole school) in February, and Lindsay Currie in April!

I was so excited when we were contacted that Lindsay Currie was in town, and we had the opportunity to have her come visit our school. We split the visit with two other schools with two hours at each school. At my school, about 100 kids came to see her speak for a period then they could ask as many questions that they wanted to (she was so gracious about the Q&A!), and then she signed for students. It was truly a wonderful visit!

Here are some reflections from my students after the visit:

How did you like the visit overall?

  • I loved the visit overall and I thought the Lincoln Park story was extremely interesting.
  • I LOVED IT!!
  • i really liked it, she had many interesting things to share.
  • I really liked it, and I loved the advice she gave in the end.
  • I thought it was amazing.

What is your biggest educational take away?

  • For me it would be listening to how she created her book because for other genres you could easily like to get at a restaurant or see it at a park or anywhere for horror you can’t just see that anywhere could you write horror books or that kind of stuff you’re not well hopefully you don’t just see that anywhere so how she had the ideas and all that kind of stuff was probably the biggest education will take away from me.
  • My biggest take away is the writing techniques she spoke about in her presentation.
  • I liked learning about the history of her books and the ghost stories.
  • My take away was when she would talk about how she got her ideas for her books and how she tries new things that led her to being very successful.
  • The many ghost stories and how the smallest things can spark the biggest ideas/curiosity.
  • She taught and told us sooo many cool ghost stories that actually were interesting and she also taught us that it’s okay to lose interest easily that all you need is good planning and a story that you can relate to.
  • Sometimes you find inspiration for stories in random situations.
  • She gave some things to do like walking different ways, and writing tips and other really cool stuff.
  • I liked how she told us to be bored to find ideas–I think its a very good tip. And I also learned a bit about how to write characters and settings.
  • To always just do something and trust your gut.

How did the visit impact you as a student?

  • How it impacted me as a student would probably be to be able to learn about a new author in all about her in.
  • It impacted me as a student because it’s my last author visit so it was quite sentimental.
  • What impacted me the most was how she used interesting real life story’s and made them correlate on the life of a author.
  • It impacted me as a student by showing me that there can be deeper meanings to a book then you may think.
  • It reminded me to always be curious and try new things.
  • It made me realize that even authors lose interest in their own works and that its okay! Things that might help with that is good planning and a story that you can actually relate to and find interesting 🙂
  • It showed me more books to read.
  • I think learning about writing from an actual author is such an amazing opportunity and the fact that it happened is already impactful
  • It made me more aware of my surroundings and it taught me to not really care what others think and I think that’s important for me especially in middle school.

What was your favorite part of the visit (this doesn’t have to necessarily be educational)?

  • Probably her explaining like the books because like there were like interesting questions while she was explaining her books that could get people thinking that kind of stuff so yeah it probably just being able to be there with my friends for the visit
  • My favorite part was the Lincoln park story and the paranormal experiences she spoke about.
  • My favorite part is finding out that she has a short attention spam because I do too so I know her books will keep me interested.
  • My favorite part of the visit was when she told us about her new trail through Chicago that led her to writing some of her books.
  • I liked the part when she talked about how she writes her books.
  • My favorite part was when she told us her main thing that inspired her.
  • I loved when she was telling us about the history of where she lived because it’s like no one ever thinks of these things.

Why was this visit important? Why is it important and powerful to have an author visit our school?

  • This visit is important because it allowed us to learn more about an author’s writing process. Also it’ important and powerful to have an author visit our school because it allows a face to face chance to learn in person about a an author and have better interactions than on a zoom or teams call.
  • It was important because it was a main point for people to look around more, or else she wouldn’t have written that book. it is important because they teach lessons, and are entertaining, and some people may really already like that author.
  • it was important for me because i could relate to her in certain things.
  • This visit was important because as we read more books in this genre, we can relate to how we read other books in that same area from the actual author’s perspective. It is important and powerful because when we meet these author’s, we learn further more about her books and how it really is to be an author.
  • I think this was important because it talked about finding writing ideas which could be very important for (future) writers and it is important and powerful to have an author visit our school because:
    – students could more relate to the author’s books or be exposed to them (which could lead us to read more).
    – students may be able to learn more based on an author’s perspective and learn about the writing process itself.
    – students would have the opportunity to ask questions to authors (which they may not be able to do other times).
  • To show and motivate us (kids/teens) that even big successful authors have their own struggles and how to help/solve those problems. For me, them visiting also gives many pointers to writing and reading 🙂
  • It brought us advice for what we can do with our imagination
  • It was important because it showed how we can use actual things to write books.
  • This visit was important because it showcased a different, sometimes less talked about genre of book. It is important and powerful to have an author visit our school because it offers an enhanced educational experience that you wouldn’t be able to get from a normal day of school, and it also could inspire someone to become an author or writer.
  • Because we can hear about their writing process first hand and we are able to hear different perspectives and experiences from what being and author may be
  • It was important because a lot of people like to read her books and she taught a very good lesson. It’s important and powerful to have an author visit our school because they can change some students minds with their success, like if a student is afraid of trying something.
  • Authors visiting makes stories come alive and shows me how books are created. It’s powerful because it inspires me to read more and even write my own stories.

As you can see from the comments and love, my students (and I) would highly recommend an author visit and specifically Lindsay!

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Student Voices: Christina Diaz Gonzalez’s Visit to Kellee’s Middle School

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I am so lucky because my principal began an initiative at my school where we get to have an author visit our school yearly (2025: George O’Connor, 2024: Jerry Craft, 2023: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 2022: Nathan Hale, 2020: Neal Shusterman, 2019: Jennifer A. Nielsen). The author sees all students in the school, so it is a great community literacy event for my school, and I love being able to bring this experience to all of my students each year!

This year, we hosted Award-Winning Author Christina Diaz Gonzalez again!

We are so thankful to Christina Diaz Gonzalez for being with us all day. Not only did she present to over 900 students about her books and writing life, she did a signing time for any student who wanted his autograph, she did a special presentation for our newer enrolled ELL Spanish-Speaking students, and she stayed after to sign books for teachers & bookmarks for our Literacy Night 2026: A Night of Christina Diaz Gonzalez participants! It was such a wonderful day!

Here are some reflections from my students after the visit. I asked them to think about what they learned, what they enjoyed, how they were impacted, or anything else they wanted to share:

  • I got to see how she comes up with book ideas which makes me wanna write my own books more.
  • My biggest take away was how Christina gets her ideas and how she was inspired by some daily things like getting coffee at a coffee shop.
  • I really liked the day. Christina’s presentation was very interesting.
  • It is important so that we can promote reading from ALL backgrounds.
  • My biggest takeaway is that being different is OKAY and not having everything all together is okay as well! (I got this second part from when she was explaining how she does her writing processes.)
  • The visit helps me understand the books I’ve read from her and the motivation and inspiration for them.
  • I really enjoyed it and I liked Christina. I loved how she made sure everyone understood by switching languages and how she made people feel comfortable to ask questions.
  • The day overall was an amazing day, and when I went to the visit it was fantastic. It was very interesting and fun
  • It’s important to have an author visit the school because it allows kids to learn about how books come to life and where the ideas started. Plus it can get kids into reading since they’re hearing what a book is about directly from the author and they can get in better detail than with google.
  • My biggest takeaway is that you can become an author and write books no matter where you grew up and no matter what your first language is.
  • Author visits are important because it allows for many different author to tell their stories to the next generation of kids so that they can pass on the message and hopefully, be the next generation of authors.
  • I loved learning more about her, and I think its very interesting to know the process of making her books.
  • An author visit, to me, means that Ms. Moye, Ms. H, and the other staff care about us gaining knowledge based on other peoples experiences, and the author helping us understand ourselves and what we are interested in.

  • I loved the day! I enjoyed the presentation and the signing, and I heard there was a presentation in Spanish, and I just felt glad there was an option for many to feel included.
  • My biggest take away is that most of the time Christina Diaz Gonzalez creates ideas for her books in public places which I think could help me too if I want to become an author.
  • It’s exciting to have people inspire you, and an author visit gives you something to be excited for each year.
  • My biggest take away was that anyone can be an author.
  • This visit was important because it taught me more about Christina Diaz Gonzalez and she also talked about her writing process and how she came up with ideas. It is important and powerful to have an author visit our school because then kids have the opportunity to learn about different authors and they could possibly find out about new books they may like, whereas if we didn’t have these visits, students may not learn about new authors and find new books to read.
  • I think its important to have an author visit for us to know more about some of these books and engage with them.
  • The visit impacted me in a way which showed me that confidence and taking risks is okay and this really helped me realize that not getting things on the first try is GREAT and not a bad thing.
  • The biggest take away was we can become a storyteller, too, and reading and writing can open doors to imagination and understanding.
  • The visit impacted me in a positive way since I got to learn more about an author which I enjoy doing.
  • A yearly author visit means that every year there is a new fun experience for me and my friends.
  • The visit impacted me by now when I read her books, I love how I can see the resemblance between her side and how the book was written.
  • This author visit is important because it emphasizes the ability for people to make stories in any environment.
  • Not every school gets author visits, but our school does, and it is a gift.
  • Author visits mean memories, and they are just a fun way to learn more about authors and their writing process.
  • An author visit makes reading and writing exciting. It shows us anyone can write a book and inspires us to be creative. We learn how stories are made and enjoy books more.

 

  • Author visits are really fun and a fun time to meet authors, and it means I get to meet people who live out my dream of being an author.
  • It impacted me by showing me that it is okay to change your career and you can still be successful.
  • Anyone can become an author, no matter where they were born or if something interesting happens to them.
  • You can do anything you put your mind to.
  • This visit was important because since Christina Diaz Gonzalez is a Spanish speaker, it allowed students who only speak Spanish to learn about writing. It is important and powerful to have an author visit our school because it may inspire students.
  • It helped me to think more and be aware, like memorizing what happened in a day to be able to make a story out of it or help myself in a way.
  • The visit made me realise that any person is capable of thinking up stories and becoming a successful author.
  • Having a visiting author yearly experiencing (new) exciting authors and learning about their works.
  • Remember to always revise your work.
  • It impacts me by making me realize that there are much more books than just manga and graphic novels.
  • Author visits show me that my school is very fortunate, and I am very fortunate to be able to meet these authors who have won awards and left their mark on the literacy world.
  • Yearly author visits show that our school cares about literacy, and it’s always interesting to learn about an author especially if I’ve read their books.

As you can see from the comments and love, my students and I would highly recommend a yearly schoolwide author visit and specifically Christina for a school visit!

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Student Voices: Mark Oshiro’s Visit to Kellee’s Middle School

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This year, in addition to our yearly author visit that we’ll have in February (2026: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 2025: George O’Connor, 2024: Jerry Craft, 2023: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 2022: Nathan Hale, 2020: Neal Shusterman, 2019: Jennifer A. Nielsen), a colleague and I were lucky enough to win an auction for a full day visit from Mark Oshiro!

 

Mark spoke to students about being an author, writing for the Percy Jackson universe, hints and tricks for writing better dialogue, and hosted a Q&A session. Students in one presentation were even given a sneak peek of an upcoming novel!

Here are some reflections from my students after the visit.

How did the author visit impact you as a student & what was your biggest educational takeaway?

  • The visit motivated and inspired me to put my mind to my goals, because I got to see Mark as a kid wanting to be an author, and being a New York Times bestselling author.
  • It impacted me as a student by allowing me to get introduced into a new type of writing style and allow me to learn more aspects to the book writing process.
  • It made me want to go for my dreams.
  • It made feel confident about reading.
  • I learned more about writing that I didn’t know before.
  • Being able to meet and talk to someone as famous (and has worked with famous authors like Rick Riordan) one on one and learn from them as to what they do to be successful.
  • it made me realize how long it takes to write books and also two people can make a book together and how they make the book
  • I just feel as though I learned a lot and they were informative and helpful to me as a younger kid (like 8) who all I wanted to be was an author.
  • I think the author visit impacted me by teaching me there are always more options and it’s never to late to change and do your passion
  • I learned that if I chose to write or do anything in life you can’t just always blindly follow the rules and it’s important to always push boundaries
  • That it doesn’t matter where you start as long as you start somewhere.
  • what ever you dream is do it like when mark wrote a book when he was 11 and he is still writing books
  • Being able to learn how to properly make characters talk and also a lot of writing tips.
  • Everyone writes differently and there’s no specific set of rules
  • That it is ok to write about anything that represents you.
  • That writing a book is a long process and you can’t just sit down and write a good book in a day.

Why was this visit important? Why is it important and powerful to have an author visit our school?

  • For kids who may want to be authors to get inspiration.
  • The visit was important because because it can motivate kids dreams and a really fun thing to do. Overall, that day really made my month.
  • i personally think it is interesting to meet authors and hear about the reasons why they do what they do, and i often end up reading many more of their books after the visit
  • This visit was important because it helps to teach kids that things about being an author. Its powerful to have an author visit our school because it can help inspire kids that are doubting their talents and their ability to pursue a career in it. Seeing the perspective of someone who had a childhood dream to be an author, and ended up being successful gives students motivation and hope for their futures.
  • This visit was important because it allowed us to hear the background behind their stories. It’s important to have an author visit our school because it gives us that educational experience you wouldn’t normally get in class plus it comes with a long lasting memory.
  • It’s important because many students get inspired by authors and it gives students an understanding about the author’s books. Author visits encourage and influence kids.
  • It was important for inspiration and was also important for the author promote their book.
  • It was important to me because it can help make people feel better when their writing about something.
  • This visit was important because it allows us to learn about different perspectives and about things that we may have not heard of before. Having author visits at our school can be powerful because it could maybe allow someone to find out that they want to write or be an author.
  • To be able to hopefully inspire the kids to continue to read and write their way through life.
  • This visit was important because learning more about writing and being an author can inspire other kids to peruse with their older. It is very powerful to have an author visit our school because it inspires and it’s fun and different from every other day in the school year. I am so happy that our school does this!
  • Because it makes us understand why books are still important and because its so fun to be with a famous author and getting to know them.
  • it is a rare occasion and a great gift for authors to come to our school and trach us some stuff about writing books.
  • It is important to have an author visit because it encourages kids to learn about new authors they may like and encourages reading. It also is good for the author because they can possibly get good feedback from their own readers, especially younger people. I think it is important to have a STRONG author too, because then kids don’t get bored as easily, and it is more fun and exciting to come see this author, especially if they write books that are more common for middle schoolers to read, ex: Mark Oshiro.
  • I think the reason author visits are important because it shows that you have more options in life then you think and you don’t always have to go work an office job and it shows us that with hard work you can make your dreams come true.

What was your favorite part of the visit?

  • The Q & A part because Mark interacted with us in a way that was very nice!
  • My favorite part was when they talked about how they, with Rick Riordan, ended up writing the Nico series together.
  • Being able to see an authors perspective in general, and when they read us a part of new book that’s not published yet.
  • Mark was really funny.
  • I love being able to get to talk and get to know someone who has worked with someone as well known as Rick Riordan and also get a sneak peek into what secret projects their working on.
  • My favorite part was learning interesting facts about Mark because they are a cool and funny person.
  • Hearing Mark Oshiro talk about their experiences.

How did you like the visit overall?

  • Honestly I thought it was really fun and I had such a good time with my friends and listening to Mark Oshiro talk
  • I enjoyed it a lot and they were funny and relatable in some ways
  • i loved it, i learned a lot about Greek mythology and Percy Jackson. I loved Mark’s energy and the way they interacted.
  • It was really fun and I’m so grateful that I got to meet Mark Oshiro and get my book signed.
  • I really liked the visit it was very fun and interesting.
  • IT WAS AMAZINGG
  • I LOVED it! They were such a kind and relatable person.
  • I really liked the visit I think this is my favorite author visit I’ve been to.

As you can see from the comments and love, my students and I would highly recommend Mark for a school visit!

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Looking Back on ALAN 2024

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As ALAN 2025 approaches, I have been reflecting on my time on the ALAN Executive Committee, including my time as President of ALAN 2024, and I realized that I never shared my theme and remarks here. I am so proud of both of them as they truly are the foundation of what I believe as an educator, parent, and person.

Let Them Read
Theme Announced November, 2023

As our nation experiences the highest number of book challenges and bannings it has faced in recent history, those of us who work with young people continue to fight to let them read books that are “windows, mirrors, sliding glass doors” (Sims-Bishop, 1990) and “telescopes” (Toliver, 2021). 

It is through books that readers can relate and connect to each other and to the world around them, making our world a better place. We know that the best way to plant the seed for the inclusive and understanding future that we strive for is by giving readers options to read about those different from themselves; that the best way to reduce the mental health crisis in our young people and to empower all of our students, specifically our historically marginalized students, to be their true, authentic selves is to let readers feel seen by reading about others like themselves; that the best way to learn about our world is to delve into narratives and information about it; and that it is through speculative stories that readers’ brains soar and see that possibilities are endless. It is for these reasons, and more, that we must continue to fight to LET THEM READ. 

ALAN 2024 President’s Welcome
November, 2024

Good morning! I am Kellee Moye, your 2024 ALAN President. 

For these next two days, I am so excited to celebrate the freedom to read with you all. I am so proud to be a member of this community which truly believes that all readers should have the opportunity to relate to books and be exposed to those who are different to them in books. 

As our nation experiences the highest number of book challenges and bannings it has faced in recent history, those of us who work with young people continue to fight to let them read books that are “windows, mirrors, sliding glass doors” (Sims-Bishop, 1990) and “telescopes” (Toliver, 2021). 

It is through books that readers can relate and connect to each other and to the world around them, making our world a better place. We know that the best way to plant the seed for the inclusive and understanding future that we strive for is by giving readers options to read about those different from themselves; that the best way to reduce the mental health crisis in our young people and to empower all of our students, specifically our historically marginalized students, to be their true, authentic selves is to let readers feel seen by reading about others like themselves; that the best way to learn about our world is to delve into narratives and information about it; and that it is through speculative stories that readers’ brains soar and see that possibilities are endless. It is for these reasons, and more, that we must continue to fight to LET THEM READ.

Over these next two days, I have aimed to grow our defenses, knowledge, and reach by featuring authors, illustrators, narrators, and editors who write for a variety of readers; are bold in their writing; and that want to cultivate a better future for young people.

There are many people I need to thank, and please read my remarks at the end of the program to see what fantastic support I’ve had as an educator and ALAN leader, but I am going to break tradition a little bit and begin this workshop with the poem at the beginning of the program. This poem was written by combining responses from current and past students at my school, Hunter’s Creek Middle School in Orlando, FL. I asked them: why is it important to have the freedom to read and why are diverse books important. Here are their responses: 

Books can feel like home (but also) reading helps you get away.
Reading inspires me.
It leads to more questions and wanting to explore more things.
Books can lead to things you didn’t even know existed.
Being able to relate to a character helps you feel seen and less alone.
Reading freely is a portal to anything possible.
(Free) readers are open to new ideas; freethinkers.
It lets you develop your own opinions.
Through reading we can grow into better people.
Reading vastly leads to learning of all things,
bringing forth new leaders.
I wouldn’t be the person I am today without access to history;
without being in touch with my roots.
Reading is the essential pathway to any sort of growth.
Diverse reading opens doors to countless opportunities
for discovering more of who you are.
We need freedom over books because we can find ourselves in books!!
Kids should have the freedom to choose what they want to read
(because) reading a variety of books expands knowledge
and understanding.
We learn so much from books, even if it’s subconsciously,
about new things and diverse communities and cultures.
Then we can be open up to ideas in the real world
and open to understand people and their perspectives.
It is important to read diverse books
to get to know more about other people
(and) have more information about different cultures.
(This leads to) more empathy for people going through
situations that I have seen from books I have read.
Readers love relating to the characters in the books they’re reading,
(so) reading widely can help kids feel less alone.
Everyone should be able to read something they want to read,
rather than something that they don’t.
It is my decision to read a book that I like, not someone else’s.
(And) freedom in my reading encourages me to read more.
Diverse books can open your eyes.
And diverse books help people feel seen and included.
Don’t marginalize marginalized communities.
All perspectives must be seen and heard
(because) no two people have the same story to tell.

…

This is why we do what we do, and I am so excited for these next two days and the authors and educators we are going to hear from to help support the mission to LET THEM READ. 

I always keep this in my heart as I move within the world;
I hope these words resonate with you, too.
Now onto Denver and ALAN 2025 and celebrating the Legacy of YA!

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