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Hamming It Up for Book Mentor Project Families
Bruce Weber huffed and snuffed and sneezed in great storybook fashion as he read “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.” Weber, a former 5th grade teacher who now is University of Illinois head men’s basketball coach, was one of six U of I readers who presented children’s stories for an audio CD, produced for families in Illinois Public Media’s Book Mentor Project.
CDs with six different children’s books were provided free to each of the 578 families in the project, who now have another way to expose their children to books. “We want kids to hear stories repeatedly, especially at home. In case parents or other caregivers at home have difficulty reading or don’t have time, these CDs help fill in the gap,” said Molly Delaney, educational outreach director at Illinois Public Media.
Other readers were Lisa Gay Dixon, Anne Haas Dyson, Susan and Richard Herman, and David Chih. A gift from the Saemann Foundation funded the CD project. The Book Mentor Project provides 3,500 books each year to families in the project. Forty-two pre-school classrooms at eight school sites participate.
