By: BROOKLYN BRAUNER | January 23, 2024
Twenty-five students aged four to 12 attended a read-aloud of Ruby Bridges’ newest children’s book titled “Dear Ruby, Hear Our Hearts,” a compilation of letters that she had received from young students about modern societal issues, including bullying, sexism and gun violence.
Last week’s read-aloud event was part of the “Ruby Bridges Storytime” campaign, a city-wide series of readings for young students and families at four of the New Haven Public Library branches as well as the Boys & Girls Club of Greater New Haven. The event launched at Stetson Library on Jan. 16, where Branch Manager Diane Brown and Children’s Librarian Phillip Modeen hosted former Mayor Toni Harp ARC ’78 to read to second graders from Lincoln Bassett Community School.
“The 2024 University MLK Commemoration committee spent a good amount of time locating different venues to host the read-alouds,” Fallon Thomas, board member of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater New Haven and Community Liaison for the Yale-New Haven Hiring Initiative at Yale University, said. “We decided that the Boys and Girls Club had the perfect audience because the topic of the book is very relevant to the supplemental education we provide here.” (more)