Books for Boys
Posted: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 9:00 AM by Jaclyn Levin
(From Ron Allen, NBC News Correspondent)
Every now and again in this business you get the chance to meet someone who believes in magic. And, after spending a little time with them, you start to believe in the supernatural too.
Last spring a good friend of mine asked my wife and I to host an annual gala for a non-profit organization called Children's Village. It's a residential home for about 300 young boys who've had problems with the law, trouble at school or at home. Kids often labeled, "at risk."
Children's Village was honoring a woman named Pam Allyn, and her program “Books for Boys." Her acceptance speech was absolutely mesmerizing. Allyn said she believes books can change lives. Someone who's lost can be found through a book, she said.
A child who feels really alone can find companionship through a book, she added. People who feel disconnected, she went on to explain, can become connected to society, through a book. In short, that's how books do magical things. I immediately wanted to know what she'd been reading!!
Allyn is a literacy consultant who helps teachers and school systems figure out ways to improve reading. She has her own company called LitLife. Her latest book is called “The Complete 4”. Back when she was in high school, she volunteered and did some mentoring work with the boys of Children's Village. So, later in life, about 7 years ago, it was an obvious place for her to bring her love of books, and her skills to help young people become better readers.
Allyn says, she has never forgotten the sound of her mother's voice reading to her as child, especially, "Blueberries for Sal." And that became the starting point for her literacy work, the read aloud. She says it was a way to invite a non-reader into a book, into the story, without having to make a big effort, without feeling intimidated. That's why in her “Books for Boy's” program activities, you so often here the participants reading to each other.
Another important thing she says, is giving children the right kinds of books. Books they will enjoy and relate to. Books they can connect with. For example, she introduced us to a young boy named Wayland, who was a poor reader. He also struggled through school. All of which led to a lot of other problems for him. Allyn introduced him to a collection of poems by the African American writer Langston Hughes, and especially a piece called, "In Time of Silver Rain." To make a long happy story quite short, Wayland began spending more time with books, became a better reader, a better student, and eventually graduated from high school, and went on to college.
There's more to “Books for Boys”, but by now you probably get the idea. Children's Village is now filled with small libraries. There are book clubs, reading groups, and even visits by best selling authors like James Patterson, who stops by every now and then to offer encouragement. And, of course, he spends some time reading with the boys.
Allyn has even taken her literacy show on the road. Some members of her “Books for Boys” club visit a nearby senior center, where they read with the residents. The sessions help build the boys’ confidence and also give the elderly residents a sense of purpose and accomplishment in their lives. Her goal has been to create a culture at Children's Village where the boys like to see themselves as "readers," part of the community of people who talk about books. Some also have become much more interested in writing their own stories and poems.
So, is it really magic? Whatever it is, when you're with Allyn, her passion and enthusiasm are contagious. Her young students seem to be blissfully overwhelmed by it all. What you might expect of a woman who says she cannot remember a time in her life when she didn't love books.
