Read Aloud Monongalia County has joined with West Virginia children’s authors Marc Harshman and Anna Smucker to make two of their books available free of charge.
As part of the Read Aloud Author video series children, parents and teachers can hear and see Harshman read his classic “Rocks In My Pocket,” a humorous Appalachian tale of how the Wood family carried rocks in their pockets to keep from being blown off their windswept mountaintop farm.
Smucker shares her book, “Golden Delicious, A Cinderella Story,” a tale of how this apple was discovered in Clay County.
Both books reflect West Virginia history and culture and are currently out of print. The Mon County Read Aloud Board wanted to preserve these stories, not just for current readers, but also for future generations.
Videos of Marc and Anna reading their books are available on Read Aloud’s YouTube channel: readaloudwv.org/moncounty.
Special thanks go to Larry Dowling and John Hale of the local West Virginia Public Broadcasting station for creating these special videos. The videos will also be available on WVPB this spring.
In addition to these Read Aloud videos, Read Aloud Mon County continually strives to share the love of reading by sponsoring Read Aloud classroom visits and underwriting the purchase of books to support schoolbook clubs. Funding comes from the annual Read Aloud/Literacy Volunteers annual Used Book Sale.
When COVID restrictions relax, Read Aloud hopes to return its volunteers to the classrooms and once again sponsor author visits and History Alive speakers.
Additional information is available through Read Aloud Monongalia County volunteer Diana Claydon, dsclaydon@gmail.com and 304-216-1802.
