January 2009 Articles
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Ruth Metcalf, Choose to Read Ohio Coordinator
State Library of Ohio
It is a known fact that successful readers have come from homes in which certain factors were present including:
- Reading and writing materials readily available
- Adults who read with children regularly
- Discussion during book reading
Reading on its own can be a profound experience when a book speaks to one’s own experience, provides insight into a common experience, or sheds light on a truth. Reading together is also a very beneficial learning experience which can bring families closer together.
Choose to Read Ohio, a new statewide reading program sponsored by the State Library of Ohio, will connect children, families, and all Ohioans through the experience of sharing literature together.
The State Library of Ohio began discussing the possibility of a statewide reading project with Ohioana in June 2008. The Ohioana Book Festival held in May 2008 provided a wonderful venue for meeting Ohio’s authors which inspired the Choose to Read Ohio program. We envisioned a statewide program that would promote reading and sharing quality literature across the Buckeye State.
Choose to Read Ohio has one main goal, which is to encourage the reading of books together across Ohio communities. Ohio’s residents of all ages will choose to read a title together over a six week period between National Library Week, (April 2009) and the end of 2010. It is hoped that they will come together to discuss these books in a variety of settings—local public libraries, schools, churches, daycares, or other organizations. Choose to Read Ohio encourages Ohioans to Read Together, Read Ohio, and Read for Life.
The first step in initiating Choose to Read Ohio was the selecting of titles for the program. A Selection Advisory Committee was appointed to assist in choosing the books for the three categories—Children’s, Young Adult, and Adult. Committee members represented schools, public libraries, booksellers, and the Ohio Center for the Book. The State Library of Ohio and Ohioana set criteria for the titles. The committee structured the lists so that there are four current titles and one classic title for each category. Below is the list of titles that were chosen:
Children’s Titles
Margeret Peterson Haddix, Found, 2008, Simon & Schuster, Ages 9-12
Louise Borden, The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey, 2005, Houghton Mifflin, Ages 9-12
Shelley Pearsall, Trouble Don’t Last, 2003, Yearling, Ages 9-12
Andrea Cheng, Where the Steps Were, 2008, Front Street Press, Ages 9-12
Children’s Classic:
Robert McCloskey, Make Way for Ducklings, 2004, (reprint - original in 1941),Viking, Ages 4-8
Young Adult Titles
Sharon Draper, Copper Sun, 2007, Simon Pulse, paperback, $8.99, Grades 8 up
Chris Crutcher, Deadline, 2007, Harper, Grade 9 up
Jacqueline Woodson, After Tupac & D Foster, 2008, Putnam, Grades 9 up
Jaime Adoff, The Death of Jayson Porter, 2008, Hyperion, Grades 7 up
Young Adult Classic:
Sharon Creech, Walk Two Moons, 2003, Harper, Grades 6-9
Adult Titles
Anne Hagedorn, Beyond the River: The Untold Story of the Heroes of the Underground Railroad, Simon & Shuster, 2002
Toni Morrison, A Mercy, Knopf, 2008
Dan Chaon, You Remind Me of Me, Ballantine Books, 2004
Lee Martin, River of Heaven, Shaye Areheart Books, 2008
Adult Classic:
Harriet Beecher Stowe, The Annotated Uncle Tom’s Cabin, edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Hollis Robbins, W. W. Norton, 2007
Once the titles were chosen, a Production Committee was appointed to work on the implementation and promotion of the program. This committee is made up of representatives from The State Library of Ohio, Ohioana, Ohio Center for the Book, WOSU Public Television, The Ohio Channel, and public libraries. This committee decided that a Choose to Read Ohio website would be the vehicle for libraries and other organizations to access resources and information about the program. Downloadable resources such as posters, resource guides, tip sheets, as well as posters will be available here.
The program will be unveiled during National Library Week in April 2009 as well as at the Ohioana Book Festival in May 2009, and will go through the end of 2010. This will insure that libraries and other organizations have the resources necessary to implement the program.
Choose to Read Ohio is unique in that organizations can choose from titles in any of the three categories. A booklist will be created for each category. Participating organizations may utilize any of the books under their chosen category to implement the program in their communities.
There is no limitation on the number of books an organization may use or promote. The structure of the program will be different for each local organization.
The CTRO website will provide downloadable resources for each title, as well as a program database for libraries and organizations to post their programs. The CTRO program will be evaluated using an online survey form.
The State Library of Ohio and its partners – Ohioana Library, Ohio Center for the Book, WOSU Public Television, The Ohio Channel, Ohio’s Public Libraries, Kent State University School of Library and Information Science – invite all Ohioans to take part in “Choose to Read Ohio”. This project is designed to deepen an appreciation of literature through reading and discussing together. We hope that local public libraries, schools, churches, daycares, or other organizations will take up the challenge to:
Read Together/Read Ohio/Read for Life!
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