No Time Like the Present

Hi friend,

Wow. What a year we’ve had! It's been some time since my last newsletter, and I couldn't let 2020 pass without reaching out and sharing some bookish insights and inspiration with my favorite readers. As the year winds down and the holiday season dawns, one question keeps me focused: If you had one gift to give, and only now to give it, what would it be?

Why, a book, of course! If I had just an hour, I would pull treasured books from my shelves and scrawl Thank you, I love you and Remember when letters on the flyleaf to my near and dear. I hope they’d delight in my underlines and margin scribbles, all signs of the joy of reading—the voyages taken, the lessons learned, the stories to remember. Reading between those lines, wherever and whenever they chose, we’d find ourselves ever connected across space and time.

Looking ahead to 2021, I want to live in this spirit every day, spreading the enchantment of a life well read. I’m rebooting my newsletter's trademark book and author coverage. Plus, I’m adding new literacy-rich resources to the mix to help the parents, grandparents, and caregivers among you nurture the young readers in your lives. Handpicked by my team (three moms, an artist, and a preschool teacher) and me, the featured crafts, games, and projects make it a little easier to bring warmth, presence, and intent to long days with young children.

Beyond nurturing strong reading among the children closest to us, we can also expand our vision to advocate for the systemic change that’s required to ensure that all children learn to read well. Even before COVID, a national assessment reported that only 37% of fourth graders were proficient readers and that the performance of the lowest scoring students—those at risk of crippling, lifelong illiteracy—fell significantly compared to prior years. Reading failure of this magnitude is unconscionable when, to quote a United Nations brief, education is "an enabling right with direct impact on the realization of all other human rights."

I’m hopeful that together we can turn this around, and I invite you to join me in a reading-for-all mission. Read on for ideas on how we can do our part to celebrate books and authors, nurture young readers, and make a more just, connected, literate nation.

Stay Smart,

Maya

Celebrate Books & Authors

Smart Kids Book Club
January Selection: Malcolm & Me by Robin Farmer
Years ago, I told my dear friend Robin Farmer that I was holding a space on my daughter’s book shelf for the novel she was working on. That book, Malcolm & Me, launched this month to critical acclaim for its exploration of school, race, and America’s founding hypocrisy, from a tween perspective. And, yes, its 1970s setting makes it historical YA!

Register here to join my daughter, Zora, and me for a family-friendly book club discussion and author chat with Robin on January 10, 2020 at 2 p.m. CST/3 p.m. EST. You can buy the book and support local booksellers here.

Author Interviews
I’ve interviewed Zadie Smith, Salman Rushdie, Jacqueline Woodson, and many more before live audiences in Austin, but 2020 taught me that intimate, insightful conversations can happen via Zoom, too. Visit the links below to see my chats with Bryan Washington, Yaa Gyasi, and Natasha Trethewey.

Watch here: Pulitzer Prize Winner Natasha Trethewey discusses Memorial Drive for the Texas Book Festival (available online until December 9, 2020).

Watch here: Yaa Gyasi discusses Transcendent Kingdom for the Texas Book Festival (available online until December 9, 2020).

Watch here: Bryan Washington discusses Lot for Gen Padalecki’s Now & Gen Book Club.

Book Shop
All book sales made through the Bookshop links in this email directly support local, independent booksellers and help preserve these vital sanctuaries for thought, conversation, and community.

Nurture Early Literacy

Free Workshop
Are you a parent, grandparent, or caregiver to a child five or younger? If so, my How to Give Your Child a Smart Start Workshop on January 14th is for you. It covers:

Why it takes more than bedtime stories to raise a reader
When kids need to develop key literacy skills from infancy onward
Which simple, affordable tools you can use to teach reading at home
What you can (and can’t) expect from schools when it comes to reading instruction

Coming Soon: My First Book!
I’m thrilled to announce that my nonfiction debut, Reading for Our Lives, is forthcoming from Avery/Penguin Random House. Stay tuned for behind-the-scenes updates on my author journey. My newsletter subscribers will be the first to know when it’s available for pre-order!

On the Blog
The Three Best Reasons to Read Aloud to Babies

Six Bookish Crafts that Make Great Stocking Stuffers

Seven Guaranteed Ways to Engage Kids with Family Read-Alouds

Change Lives

Nonprofit Spotlight: Literacy First
Too often kids are left to flounder and fail when they arrive in school without a strong literacy foundation because there’s not sufficient staff or time to bring them up to grade level. Literacy First recruits, trains, and coaches full-time professional reading tutors who can meet kids where they are and teach the skills they need to thrive as readers by third grade.

I love Literacy First's one-to-one tutoring model and its focus on delivering crucial lessons in letter-sound knowledge, phonological awareness, phonics, and fluency in customized daily 20-30 minute sessions. When the organization’s tutoring went virtual due to COVID, an amazing thing happened. Some parents began sitting in on sessions with their kids and began learning to read themselves! A personal touch and whole-family support matter more than ever. Learn more here.

Nonprofit Spotlight: Ripple Reads
The will to create social change starts in our hearts and homes. That’s why I’m proud to be an advisor to Ripple Reads, a newly launched book and magazine subscription that helps families and caregivers have meaningful conversations with kids about race, justice, and empathy.

Its bimonthly family discussion guides and activities are crafted in partnership with leading professors from the University of Texas Center for Innovation in Race, Teaching, and Curriculum. What’s more, through the Ripple Reads scholarship fund, children participating in the Friends of the Children Austin mentoring program receive a free subscription. Learn more here.