What is “REaDy to REaD”? – Video recorded read alouds of books read by and written by mostly African American authors

​Purpose – To provide children and youth an opportunity to hear what good fluent reading sounds like. To expose parents, children, and listeners to African American role models, authors, and promote their books. To provide an entertaining experience. 

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Release Date	​Featured Book	​Book Summary	Featured Reader
June 2021	​The Secret Olivia Told Me​	​Can you keep a secret? Olivia has a BIG secret. It's a secret that she tells only to her very best friend. And her friend promises she won't say a word. But the secret is really BIG and JUICY! What happens when a trusted friend slips and the secret gets out? Can you keep a secret? In The Secret Olivia Told Me, find out what happens when Olivia's friend can't.	Bertha Jones (FW Alumnae DST - Retired Educator) ​​
June 2021	Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain	An engaging rhyme about a boy, Ki-pat who brought rain to the drought-stricken Kapiti Plain.	Sheran Goodspeed-Keyton (Actress, Producer, & Founder of DVA Productions ~ non-profit)
June 2021	Long Shot	Everybody told Chris that he was too small to play basketball. But he ignored them all...because he had big dreams.	Shawn Buchanan (Principal - Leadership Academy at Como Elementary, member Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.) ​
July 2021	Red Dancing Shoes	A little girl receives a pair of red dancing shoes and her feet feel magical as she dances all her favorite dances. But when she falls in the mud, her feet don't feel the same. Is there any way to get the magic back into those dirty, red shoes?	Bertha Jones (FW Alumnae DST - Retired Educator)
July 2021	Amazing Grace	Grace loves stories, whether they're from books, movies, or the kind her grandmother tells. When her school decides to perform Peter Pan, Grace desires to play Peter, but her classmates point out that she can’t play the part. With the support of her family, Grace learns that she can be anything she wants to be, and the results are amazing!	Sheran Goodspeed-Keyton (Actress, Producer, & Founder of DVA Productions ~ non-profit)
August 2021	Trombone Shorty	Hailing from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest. ​	Evan Anderson - (NBC 5 DFW - News anchor and reporter - Graduate Dillard Univ.)