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ReadBoston’s summer Storymobile program starts July 11

Jul 01, 2016

Research shows that children from low-income households have little access to high-quality reading materials. In many low-income neighborhoods, the ratio of books to children is one age-appropriate book for every 300 children, while in middle-income neighborhoods that flips overwhelmingly in the other direction to 13 books per child. (Neuman and Dickinson, 2006)
 
Without access to books, children are unable to develop the vocabulary and reading skills necessary for their success in school. During summer break this inability to access books is exacerbated and children can experience an academic slide when they return to classroom for the following school year.
 
For over two decades, a City of Boston non-profit organization known as ReadBoston has been working to promote early childhood literacy by providing schools, childcare programs, community-based organizations and families with the resources they need to set Boston’s children on the path to reading success. Affiliated with the Office of Workforce Development, ReadBoston gives away tens of thousands of free books to local kids each year.
 
From July 11 through August 19, ReadBoston’s signature initiative, the Storymobile, will visit over 50 locations each week in neighborhoods across Boston in order to:
  • Provide high-quality literary programming to low-income children throughout the city;
  • Provide access to quality books in low-income communities; and
  • Provide opportunities for learning when children are away from the classroom by exposing them to the art of storytelling.
Over the course of the six-week program, professional storytellers will entertain children with interactive stories, and every child who attends a Storymobile session will take home a new book of their own choosing. Last summer over 30,000 books were handed out to Boston’s children.
 
The summer 2016 Storymobile calendar is now available here.  The Storymobile programming is best suited for children ages 3-8, but all ages are welcome. 

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