Families celebrating moms writing their life stories? How fortunate I felt to be part of such a positive literacy celebration! Many of the moms were Spanish-speaking and felt so proud that their families were at a party to honor these new writers. The room was decorated, the food line was popular, but what made the event unique was that mothers were proudly carrying the stories they’d written and illustrated. And imagine! The dedicated staff of Arlington Public Library (TX) had typed the stories, scanned the art, and produced a hard-back book that’s now part of the library’s collection. The more I listened to the staff talk about the program, Arlington Reads, the more impressed I was by the vision of this library system to be a literacy leader in its community. How I treasure such creative literacy leaders.

Savor summer reading!