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Book Buddies Dominique Gray and Tonaza Hawkins

Kids Share Love of Reading as Neighborhood "Book Buddies"

"Book buddies is about big kids helping little kids to read," explained Williamsburg Regional Library user Dominique Gray at a recent awards ceremony honoring her neighborhood's "Book Buddies" participants.

The program began to take shape during one of the Mobile Library Services' regular visits to the Burnt Ordinary apartments in Toano as Mobile Library Services Manager Eletha Davis explained the National Education Association's Read Across America event. Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on or around Dr. Seuss's birthday (March 2nd). The neighborhood kids were enthusiastic about celebrating not only Seuss's birthday, but also promising to read 30 minutes a day throughout the entire month of March.

Five-year old Troy James expressed his concern that the younger children in the neighborhood couldn't participate if they didn't read as well as the older kids. JoDarah Prescott, responded by offering to read to Troy on the bus. "I'll be your buddy," she said, and the "Book Buddies" program was born.

JoDarah, an intelligent and thoughtful eleven-year old, mainly helps Troy read his homework books and materials. She thinks the Book Buddies program is important because it helps keep kids away from violence. On helping neighborhood kids, she says, "People read to us when we were little, so we should read to them." She hopes to work for the Mobile Library Services Department someday.

"Now I know more words," Troy says about Book Buddies. "It helps me in school and it's fun."

Troy's mother, Leslie James, agrees. In just a few months, she has seen his reading skills improve and says Troy recognizes a lot more words as a result of JoDarah's help.

As the Book Buddies program has grown, seventeen pairs of children are now involved, improving their literary skills and motivating others to read. It has also been started in other communities that the Bookmobile visits.

"Book Buddies provided us with the perfect opportunity to get children excited about reading, improve their literary skills, and build their civic capabilities through community service," says Davis. "It's really exciting to see the children so enthusiastic about reading."

Bookmobile Director Eletha Davis with Book Buddies founder JoDarah Prescott and her Book Buddy Troy James