Read All About It!

Happy Halloween to all from the Dead Librarian, Gypsy Witch, Goth Fairy-Bat, and Death Of Studio 54 at Open Books!

Today’s Open BOOks Haunted Open House was excellent — candy aplenty, pumpkin contest a-gogo, and new friends in droves. Thanks to all who came to visit us and congratulations to our pumpkin prizewinners!

Lots to share today with our fabulous, fearless literacy supporters out there!

1. We need a few great Open Books friends to form a street team of sorts. Try as we might, Stacy, Becca, Marilyn, and I simply cannot be in every neighborhood in Chicago at once (especially considering that at this very moment we are in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Massachussetts, and the United Kingdom, respectively!). If you can spare a few minutes here and there to post flyers in coffee shops, libraries, restaurants, record stores, and especially college campuses near your home or office, please e-mail me at the address below. We’ll arrange to get you flyers, tape, and a stapler ASAP — plus thank you books, of course!

2. Open Books will be in full effect Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Chicago Reader Book Swap. This fantastic free event runs 5:30-9:30 p.m. at the Cubby Bear at Clark and Addison streets in Wrigleyville. Come volunteer or simply attend and swap tomes with fellow book-lovers. It’s going to be a ton of fun! Again, volunteers please RSVP to Erin at the e-mail below. There will be complementary pizza and all the books your arms can carry.

And speaking of free pizza, books, and fun . . .

3. In November, Open Books is kicking off its newest literacy program and volunteer opportunity — OPEN BOOKS BUDDIES — with a couple of pizza party-style info sessions. Please read the 411, spread the word to friends and co-workers, and RSVP to ewalter@open-books.org so we know how much pizza to get. Food and drinks are complimentary — our thanks for your efforts at championing literacy with us.

WHEN & WHERE: Pick one Wednesday — Nov. 14 @ noon OR Nov. 28 @ 6:30 p.m. — and come to Open Books headquarters, one block north of the Chicago Brown Line stop at 213 W. Institute Place, Suite 305.

WHY: To learn about becoming a reading mentor, tutor, or other volunteer for Open Books Buddies, our exciting new literacy outreach program. You can volunteer with us in classrooms, after-school homeless shelter programs, and more! We even have a few select spots for super-fun volunteers to help with StoryBus, a huge, colorful tour bus that travels around Chicagoland spreading the love of reading.

If you’re interested (or have questions), please RSVP to Erin at ewalter at open dash books dot org. Don’t forget to mention if you’ll be there at lunchtime on Nov. 14 or for dinner on Nov. 28.

Today marks the halfway point of October, a month in which Open Books has been even busier than usual.

- Tomorrow the very first edition of the Open Books Monthly Newsletter, loaded with updates and event announcements, will hit inboxes nationwide. Are you on the classy, colorful, spam-free email list to which it will go? Join now if not!

- Our heartfelt thanks go out to all friends of Dan Ratner and Genevieve Thiers who chose to honor that beautiful couple’s marriage with donations to Open Books. Their incredible generosity totals more than $3,000 to date, which will be put towards a special computer literacy project in honor of Dan and Gen. Watch for details and join us in wishing them a long and literate life together!

- October wouldn’t be October without Halloween, and so we will be throwing our office open for a special Open BOOks Haunted House on the 31st from 11am-1pm. We’ll have treats, stories, a scary book swap, a pumpkin bookmark contest, and more…come by and meet us!

- We’re still looking for a warehouse (airplane hangar, unused garage, storage shed, etc.) to hold our constantly-growing book collection. Know of any place that might work? Please, please, please let us know!

Today I Am Reading:

Make Way For Lucia, E.F. Benson. Five of my favorite books of all time, handily bound into a single compendium of pure social satire bliss. Viva Lucia!

Open Books is announcing its newest literacy program and volunteer opportunity: OPEN BOOKS BUDDIES! Please take a moment to read, ponder, and join the fun!

WHAT: Open Books Buddies, a quick, easy, FUN volunteer opportunity that lets you make a lasting impact in the life of a Chicago child.

HOW: Spend half an hour a week as a Big Buddy to your own Little Buddy. Meet your buddy in their classroom or school library once a week, get to know them, act as a positive adult role model, and most of all, listen enthusiastically as your buddy reads aloud to you from their favorite books (and yours!).

WHEN & WHERE: Open Books literacy director Erin Walter will match you with a student at a school close to your home or work. If you’re a 9-to-5-er, you could meet the student before work or at lunch. Everyone else, take your pick of times during the school day!

WHY: Chicago kids need you! Reading aloud to Big Buddies will help struggling readers increase fluency (the ease, speed, and comfort with which they read). This is crucial to their academic success and personal confidence. Your job is so easy! Just show up each week, smile, listen, and help sound out or define the occasional “challenge word” — in short, be a buddy.

WHAT ELSE: Absolutely no experience is needed! Erin will hold brief day and night orientations in November (dates TBA soon) and you’ll be ready to buddy up in no time. PERKS include free books for you and your Little Buddy, a limited edition Open Books Buddy t-shirt, VIP treatment at Open Books parties and events, and that unforgettable warm, fuzzy feeling you get from making the world a better place for a child.

If you’re interested (or have questions), please ewalter at open dash books dot org.

If you’re sold and ready to become an Open Books Buddy, please also send me:

- address or cross streets so I can search for a school near your home or work (or preferred public elementary, if you have a favorite school in mind)
- preferred time(s) of day and day(s) of the week
- any other information you feel is relevant to Open Books Buddies

Thanks very much for time. **Many people cannot read what you just read — and the fact that you could means you already have the skills to be a Big Buddy and make a big difference! — Erin

P.S. — Don’t forget to scroll down and read everyone else’s posts from this week, especially Book Clubs news. It’s an awesome, busy time here at the Open Books HQ!

My third week as Open Books’ literacy director is wrapping up, and I must say what a blast I’m having connecting with the other great literacy organizations around Chicagoland and the excellent education advocates who run them. My most heartfelt thanks to new friends at PACTT, Chicago Books to Women in Prison, Literature for All of Us, Chicago HOPES, Sit Stay Read, 826CHI, Rock for Reading, Chicago Cares, Book Worm Angels, StoryBus, Chicago Book Festival, and the Illinois Reading Council for their enthusiastic responses to Open Books!

Ours is a big city and the mission of literacy needs all the champions it can get. It’s wonderful to meet so many dedicated people already in the mix! If your organization hasn’t heard from me yet and you think we could work together for the cause, by all means, please contact me to chat or arrange a visit to the Open Books headquarters. We have space and volunteers to share!

Also, I am looking for public schools in Chicago that would make good sites for Open Books outreach. If you would like to recommend the school where you work, in your neighborhood, or where you know students or faculty, please leave a comment. I’m all ears!