It takes a village to ensure that every child in New York City develops the skills needed to be successful in school by 5th grade.
This August, as the New York City Reads Initiative prepares its annual Back to School Celebrations in all three neighborhoods (South Jamaica, East New York, East Harlem), families will be invited to embark on a brand new learning adventure.
We call it Beyond the Book: Books, Activities and Fun. Each month, the NYC Reads Initiative will spotlight one book that celebrates a unique perspective and share free resources and activities around it. Beyond the Book is a year long guide designed to take families around the world learning about other cultures by tasting foods from different countries, practicing multiple languages, visiting libraries and museums, and of course, our favorite, reading!
In an effort to make this guide accessible to all, it will be available in five different languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Bengali and Chinese with new activities being added to the Beyond the Book’s corresponding web page every month.
To start the journey, families will scan the QR code in the booklet and take the NYC Reads Pledge, a commitment to early literacy support for all children in East New York, East Harlem, and South Jamaica, and their ticket to discovering new worlds, Beyond the Book.
