Read Aloud America

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Read Aloud America

RAP families take "time out" from busy schedules six times during one school semester to meet in the school cafeteria.

RAP, The Read Aloud Program, is a simple, direct family program that promotes parents reading aloud to children and helps families spend time together, share good books and build a lifelong love of reading. RAP, The Read Aloud Program, is a simple, direct family program that promotes reading aloud and helps parents and children share good books and build a lifelong love of reading. After a short i

ntroduction by the presenter, the students gather in age-level groups to listen to volunteers read stories. Parents, grandparents, teachers, and caregivers stay in the cafeteria with the presenter and relax as they listen to stories, reading tips, and chapter books. RAP provides free snacks, drinks, and dinner, and the evening ends with door prizes and a party atmosphere.

08/20/2026

📚 [$100 Gift Card to Barnes & Noble!] Reading aloud is even more fun when there's a chance to win a free books!

Summer might be coming into a close, but our summer reading program, Story Lab: Where Books Bring Curiosity to Life, is still in full swing! And you still have a chance to get your free download and enter our giveaway for $100 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble!

Here's how to enter:
🆓 Download Story Lab:
📸 On Facebook, post a photo of your family reading aloud a book or completing an activity from Story Lab.
🏷️ Tag
🎉 Be entered to win a $100 Barnes & Noble gift card!

We have ONE MORE DRAWING coming up! Make sure YOUR NAME is in the hat!

Download and learn the full details here: https://readaloudamerica.org/summer-reading-program/

08/18/2026

✅ Add these to your reading list!

For your curious Kindergarteners, read these three books and then try the simple extension activity for more fun! It's a great way to instill a love of books in your rising Kindergartners, while adding in hands-on activities to nurture their growing brains!

📚 Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis
📦 Extension Activity: Box Inventors
Find an empty box.
Ask your child: "What could this become?"
Together, turn it into a rocket, castle, submarine, robot, or animal habitat. Have fun, use paints, stickers, markers and more!
Talk about how inventors use imagination to solve problems.

📚 What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada
💡 Extension Activity: Idea Journal
Give your child a piece of paper, and take one for yourself, too.
Then, each one of you can draw an idea you've never tried before. Maybe it's an adventure park. Maybe it's a new kind of jungle gym. Or maybe it's a toy for your pet.
Talk about what they would need to make it happen.
Encourage them to share their invention with the family.

📚 The Most Magnificent Thing, by Ashley Spires
🔨 Extension Activity: Build & Improve Challenge
Gather blocks, LEGO bricks, or recycled materials.
Use the materials to build something new. How tall can you make it? How wide? Does it have multiple parts that connect? Is it wobbly or stable?
If it doesn't work perfectly, make improvements.
Discuss how scientists and engineers learn from mistakes.

Children learn best when they read, imagine, create, and explore. Every story can spark a new discovery!

08/13/2026

🚌 Before backpacks, bus stops, and school schedules return...

Take time for one more story.

One more adventure.

One more chance to snuggle up with a great book.

This week:
📚 Visit the library once and let your kids choose a stack of books to bring home
📚 Read aloud to your kids for 20 minutes every day
📚 Talk about your favorite story, your favorite picture, or your favorite character at the dinner table each night

The best summer memories are often the simplest ones.

‼️ [REMINDER]: if you're searching for recommendations on the best books to read to kindergartners, download our free summer reading program, which includes dozens of recommended books, fun STEM–based activities to continue the fun, and your chance to enter to win $100 gift card to Barnes & Noble!
🆓 Download now: https://readaloudamerica.org/summer-reading-program/

08/11/2026

🔤 Every parent of a rising Kindergartener needs to hear this: Your child doesn't have to be able to read fluently on Day of of Kindergarten... Kindergarten teachers expect children to arrive with different experiences and abilities. If your child can already recognize letters, that's wonderful. If your child still confuses some letters, that's okay too.

But it's natural to want to set your kiddo up for success. And guess what? There's a VERY simple and effective way to do that! One of the best ways to prepare any child for Kindergarten is:

📖 Read aloud every day

When children hear stories, they build vocabulary, listening skills, comprehension, imagination, and confidence.

So this week, try:
✔ Let your child choose a book
✔ Read aloud daily for 20 minutes

If you find that your kiddo loves it, then increase your time spent reading aloud or the number of read aloud sessions you have in the day.

That's IT!

The goal isn't perfection. And it's not fluency.

The goal is helping your child fall in love with books so that when they DO enter the Kindergarten classroom, they can't wait to discover more...

08/06/2026

🌞 [FREE DOWNLOAD] Summer isn't over yet!

You still have four more weeks to:
☀️ Read under a tree
☀️ Read on the porch
☀️ Read before bedtime
☀️ Read your child's favorite book again

Four weeks may not sound like much, but reading aloud for just 20 minutes a day can create hundreds of meaningful moments together.

And Read Aloud America's free summer reading program will take all of the guest work out of it! Download our free summer reading program, Story Lab, and you'll get excellent book recommendations for all ages, plus exciting extension activities that will give kids hands on opportunities to have fun and explore something new!

Plus, when you participate in Story Lab you'll get a chance to enter to win $100 gift card to Barnes & Noble! Who wouldn't love that?!

Don't count the days.

Make the days count.

End the summer with your free guide to summer reading fun! Download for free here: https://readaloudamerica.org/summer-reading-program/

08/04/2026

🚸 Kindergarten is a big milestone, for children and parents. If you're wondering whether your child is ready, here's some encouraging news:

One of the most powerful ways to prepare your child for Kindergarten doesn't require flashcards, worksheets, or expensive programs.

It starts with a book.

When you read aloud every day, you're helping your child build:
✨ Vocabulary
✨ Listening skills
✨ Focus and attention
✨ Confidence
✨ Curiosity
✨ A love of learning

And the best part?

Children don't need to know how to read before Kindergarten to be successful. They simply need opportunities to hear language, ask questions, tell stories, and explore ideas.

This week, try the simplest Kindergarten-readiness challenge:
📚 Let your child choose a small stack of books.
📖 Read aloud for 20 minutes each day.
❤️ Enjoy the time together.

Small moments today can make a big difference when that first day of Kindergarten arrives.

Because Kindergarten readiness isn't about being ahead.

It's about being excited to learn.

07/30/2026

☀️ Still looking for a fun, meaningful way to keep your kids reading this summer?

Meet Story Lab: Where Books Bring Curiosity to Life, a FREE 6-week summer reading program designed for the whole family. Each week includes engaging, age-appropriate book lists plus simple STEM activities that turn stories into hands-on discovery. It’s an easy way to keep kids learning, curious, and off screens while making summer feel exciting and connected.

And there’s still time to join our Summer Reading Giveaway!
🎁 Win a $100 Barnes & Noble Gift Card

How to enter:
1. Download Story Lab for free
2. Take a photo of your family reading or completing an activity
3. Post your photo on Facebook and tag

One winner is drawn each month! Next winners will be chosen August 1 and September 1, so there’s still time to enter and win!

‼️ Winners will be notified via Facebook Messenger.

Don’t miss your chance to make reading fun, meaningful, and rewarding this summer.

Download your FREE summer reading program now!
https://readaloudamerica.org/summer-reading-program/

07/28/2026

📚 This powerful insight reminds us that the real breakthrough in education doesn’t happen only inside the classroom, it happens when home and school move in the same direction. Building that bridge has been at the crux of Read Aloud America's mission.

The "father" of the read aloud movement, Jim Trelease, highlights how changing attitudes from negative to positive can reshape a child’s entire future. Programs like RAP, the Read Aloud Program, show what’s possible when reading becomes a shared priority across environments.

This is more than literacy, it’s family bonding and community transformation. When we build that bridge, we don’t just support students, we change lifelong outcomes for children and families.

07/23/2026

💥 [GET YOUR DOWNLOAD] Follow this link to download Story Lab for free!

Make summer reading fun by participating in Read Aloud America's summer reading program, Story Lab: Where Books Bring Curiosities to Life!

Enjoy 6 weeks of themed summer reading and STEM activities. Story Lab includes recommended books by age, guided STEM activities and your chance to win $100 in free books from Barnes & Noble!

Get your download now and see full giveaway rules inside!

https://readaloudamerica.org/summer-reading-program/

07/21/2026

Before our founder, Jed Gaines, created Read Aloud America or launched the Read Aloud Program, he was a father, searching for the best way to bond with his kids and set them up for success in school - and in life.

You see, as a child, Jed was severely dyslexic. He struggled to read all through elementary school, and until the 7th grade. Remembering how hard it was, he wanted to do everything he could to limit or prevent the same struggles for his children.

When he asked his local librarian for her advice, she handed him The Read Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease. "Read aloud," she said.

"It's that easy?" Jed asked.

And it was...

This simple activity became the bedrock of Jed's relationship with his kids. It was so meaningful and so impactful that he developed programs for volunteers to read aloud in local elementary schools.

These programs became so popular that he collaborated with local educators to form what became Read Aloud America, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that brought a mission forward like nothing anyone had ever seen: build families of lifetime readers through the JOY of reading aloud.

And THAT led to the creation of the popular statewide Read Aloud Program (RAP) which served over 350,000 adults and children in Hawaii. It inspired more people to read. It inspired more people to turn screens off. It changed lives and bonded families.

And if it did all that in Hawaii - yes, we believe it can change the world too.

Address

1314 S King Street, Ste 1056
Honolulu, HI
96814

Telephone

+18085931985

Website

http://www.readaloudamerica.org/

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