American Reading Company Bilingual Specialist and Author Lucía M. Sánchez Among Distinguished Guests at “Read Out Loud” Event Benefitting New York City Children
King of Prussia, Pa.—On Saturday, December 5, 2009, approximately 350 children gathered at PS 125M in Manhattan for the “Read Out Loud!” family literacy fest held by Morningside Area Alliance. Focused on building awareness of the importance of family literacy, over 1,200 new books were given away to the children and a select group of authors and illustrators were invited to read from their own works as part of the festivities.
Among the distinguished authors was American Reading Company’s Lucía M. Sánchez, a native of Spain and author of over 30 Spanish books, both fiction and non-fiction, that target beginner readers. Now living outside Philadelphia, Ms. Sánchez holds a PhD in Linguistics from the Universidad de Oviedo and, as American Reading Company’s Bilingual Specialist, oversees all Spanish programs and materials.
“Writing is an extension of my passion for reading,” says Ms. Sánchez. “I’m simply starting a conversation, and I want my guests of honor to be those who are just discovering the power of the written word. Rubbing elbows with the authors encourages the kids to dream big, and at events like this one parents experience reading to and with their children as exciting quality time spent together.”
Also reading at the event were other renowned authors including Roscoe Orman, beloved for his role as “Gordon” on Sesame Street, Zetta Elliott, whose book Bird has won numerous awards, and Edel Rodríguez, the Cuban-born illustrator whose artwork is in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.
About American Reading Company
American Reading Company transforms school cultures to create sustainable academic achievement through training, management, and monitoring. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in King of Prussia, PA. Today, more than a million students in 2,100 schools across 420 districts in 41 states participate in the company’s programs, which include ACTION 100, 100 BOOK CHALLENGE and RESEARCH LABS.