This year’s Camp Read-Aloud wrapped up the last week of July, and we are all going to miss spending time with the awesome kiddos at Catholic Charities and Ella Austin Community Center. We read six books over the summer, played literacy games, and made awesome crafts each week. The kids also participated in San Antonio Public Library’s Mayor’s Summer Reading Club where they had the opportunity to earn a free book if they read eight different titles during reading time at camp. They did a wonderful job and really impressed us all with how many books they ended up reading!

We started camp strong with a wrestling book called Rudas: Niño’s Horrendous Hermanitasby Yuyi Morales, followed by Parts, a hilarious book by Tedd Arnold about a boy who thinks his loose tooth and peeling skin are all signs that his body is falling apart on him. Next, we readLady Pancake and Sir French Toastby Josh Funk, a story about the two friends racing through the fridge to get the last of the syrup.

The second half of camp started with Monkey See, Monkey Draw by Alex Beard, and the kids were able to play with paint and turn their handprints into animal drawings, just like the monkeys in the book. After that, we read The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and finished up camp with Chato and the Party Animals by Gary Soto, a story about a cat who throws a giant party for his friend when he realizes he’s never had one.

Camp Read-Aloud was a lot of fun and gave kids a chance to continue reading and learning over the summer months. It was an amazing feeling to see how excited the kids got when they were able to pick their book to take home on our last day together. A special thank you to all the volunteers and staff at the community centers as well – we can’t wait to do it again next year!

Alyssa Delgado, Program Manager