Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/635847
Be Our Valentine Happy Valentine's Day to educators everywhere! Read Across America If someone had taken that book out of my hand said, You're too old for this maybe I'd never have believed that someone who looked like me could be in the pages of the book that someone who looked like me had a story. — Jacqueline Woodson, Brown Girl Dreaming G E T R E A D Y F O R Read Across America on March 2. Sponsored by NEA, the day is marked by special events where students, educators and community come together to spread the joy and excitement of reading to children of all ages. CTA's California Reads program is part of Read Across America, and among recommended books this spring are Rosita y Conchita by Eric Gonzalez and Erich Haeger (grades 1-2) and Brown Girl Dreaming by Jac- queline Woodson (grades 6-8). Rosita y Conchita, a picture book with rhyming text in English and Spanish, tells the story of twin sisters reaching out to each other on the Day of the Dead. Through humor and love, readers learn about the holiday's significance and the mean- ing behind the various offerings on the altar Conchita builds for dearly departed Rosita, who tries to find her way back to her sib- ling for one day. National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming is the author's story of growing up in South Carolina and New York, and feeling "halfway home" in each. Through powerful poems, an African American child in the 1960s and '70s finds her place in the world. See cta.org/raa to download bookmarks, posters, certificates in English and Spanish and reading tips for parents in eight languages. Check out cta.org/californiareads for more recommended books. #ReadAcrossAmerica WE LOVE EDUCATORS 8 cta.org 8 cta.org