In this section you'll find stories from people who have discovered how reading has enriched their lives and are eager to pass it on. Out Loud is about people who have rediscovered a traditional way to experience the written word, through public readings, poetry slams, children's story times and other venues for reading out loud. Reading is a collection of essays and narratives, from many different points of view, about how reading enriches our lives. In Reading and Learning, teachers and parents share their ideas for teaching not only the skills for reading, but how to instill a desire to read. Also included here are articles about community programs and organizations that promote reading.

Out Loud

Read Another One!
Toby Sullivan recalls a night in a fish camp on Kodiak Island when voices from other fish camps came out of the darkness on the VHF radio -- reading poems and passages from books they had pulled down off their bookshelves.

Father and Son Team Produce Rodent Radio
KCAW, Sitka, on Sunday nights at 6 broadcasts a half hour of surprising "rodent radio." Genuine Mouse Radio is written and hosted by two mice named Eeek and Squeak, substantially aided by mystery writer John Straley and his 11-year-old son, Finn.

The Shopping Cart Ladies
Marilyn Wakeland and Betty Broste have a live radio show on which they star as the "Shopping Cart Ladies." They read supermarket ads from start to finish for listeners to AIRRES, a public radio station for blind and print impaired Alaskans.

A Secret Life Unfolds Through Poetry
"Live poetry, treated as entertainment that either succeeds or doesn't, may be closer to the cultural edge," Peter Porco says. "Or maybe not. But either way, the slam seems to be fresh and a little reckless, dreamy or tossed off. Because I seem to be boringly responsible in my personal life, I invite poets and actors to step before a crowd and try to win it over with wit and guts."

The Birth of a Songwriter Through Poetry
In her youth, before she had four daughters to raise, Wendy Withrow's mother memorized poetry. Back then, before television, people did more to entertain themselves. They went to visit each other. They sat on porches in the cool of the evening and sang songs. They played games. They recited poetry.

What They Didn't Do
Surrounded by the spectacular scenery of his first voyage up Alaska's Inside Passage, Mort Maimon also observed an unforgettable lesson about the importance of sharing stories and experiences with your children.

Storytime in the Garden

Barbara Brown reading stories at Anchorage Botanical Gardens.

Reading

Favorites: Kids Pick 'Em
In this section a sampling of students from Alaska schools tell us in their own words about their favorite books.

Anchorage's Reading Rendezvous
Reading Rendezvous is a giant, fun-filled, free Reading Fair, the latest effort by the Alaska Center for the Book, held in conjunction with Anchorage Municipal Libraries. Check out photos from the 2001 and 2002 fairs!

On the Same Page: Alaskans Reading Together
Alaska Sisters in Crime and Alaska Center for the Book set out to select a book that all of Alaska could read, discuss and enjoy. Their first selection is now in the hands of readers.

On Rereading Siddhartha
Writer Nancy Lord reflects on the power of reading and how a book she read years ago changed her life. "I wanted to know if Siddhartha was a good book. I wanted to know if it had, as I suspected was possible, changed my life."

A Bookmark to a Love of Reading
Along the length of the bookmark she made, Nancy Barnes' grandmother wrote the words of Mark Twain: "Those who do not read have no advantage over those who can't."

A Constant Adventure!
Reading has added hope and joy to the lives of Sara Juday and her family. Ever since Sara was a child, reading for her has been an adventure.

Reach Out and Read
You might not expect to receive a book and instruction on teaching your child to read when you take your youngster for a medical checkup. But that's what you'll get from the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center when your child comes in for a "well-child" examination.

Reading and Learning

Reading With Feeling
Buckland, Alaska, just southeast of Kotzebue, is far removed from the big city of Anchorage. Further still is the distance one must travel when bridging the road between the printed word and Braille. As a first grader in the Buckland Elementary School, Jeremiah is traveling this road, and is now reading with "feeling."

Attention!
Christopher doesn't like to sit still. He's a wiggly, giggly, active eight-year-old who loves to fish and learn new outdoor skills. But whip out a book and Chris takes note. He can sit still for a book.

Godmother of the Alaska Center for the Book
Most people know Sandy Harper as the owner of Cyrano's Bookstore and Off Center Playhouse in Downtown Anchorage. But many members of Alaska's literary community also know her as the godmother of the Alaska Center for the Book.

Excerpts From a High School English Teacher's Diary
Joann Congdon records events as she leads her class through a comparative study of Oedipus the King and the Bible story of Job.

Exploring New Worlds: RSVP Volunteers
"What are you passionate about?" is the question Christina DeNuptiis gets to ask daily, as she connects senior citizens in the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program with organizations and businesses. RSVP volunteers donated 84,000 hours of their time in 1999.

The Anchorage Reads Program
The Anchorage Reads program, which was started in 1998, is part of President Clinton's America Reads Challenge to ensure every child can read well by the end of the third grade.

The Anchorage Literacy Project
What’s in a word? The whole world, for people learning how to read and write. Gerry Dubie devotes part of his free time to tutoring with the Anchorage Literacy Project. One of his students is JB, a native of Africa who is learning to read and write English.

Emergent Literacy and Chugiak Children's Services
Emergent literacy, the philosophy used at Head Start, states that parents can foster literacy by creating conditions for it to grow and thrive in their children, starting right in their own home.

Thoughts From a School Librarian
Alice Knapp, librarian at Chugach Optional Elementary School in Anchorage, believes "that kids are more apt to become lifelong enthusiastic readers if they are allowed to read what they most enjoy reading. "

Learning to Read by Writing
When they are authors, children quickly become aware of the need to gain meaning from print. The "author's chair" experience, where a child shares his/her story with the class, is a real situation in which each author learns how effectively he/she has communicated the meaning that was intended.