The National Council of Negro Women Provides Books to Young Readers
By Eric Steckel
June 15, 2023
Children experience the joy of reading and growing a library
Thanks to the National Council of Negro Women, thousands of young readers learned about the significant contributions Black men and women made to the immunization history of the United States.
Children delight in learning to read. It opens their minds and imaginations to new worlds. They see themselves reflected in the stories they read.
As their confidence grows, they take pride in owning books they can call their own.
A child’s growing library is a significant part of their journey to becoming a lifelong reader.
Through the donations of individuals and community groups, Children Rising has provided tens of thousands of books to eager young readers. It’s a joy to see the sparkle in a child’s eye when they open a new book for the first time, knowing it is part of their growing library.
Queenie Gets Her Shots … and children get free books!
This past October, the East Oakland-Hayward Section of The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) published a children’s coloring book, Queenie Gets Her Shots. Over 2,500 children received a copy of the book in a very short time, including kids in Children Rising’s Succeeding by Reading program.
A child’s growing library is a significant part of their journey to becoming a lifelong reader.
Section President Jennifer King, wrote the text, and local artist Dr. Ajuan Mance did the outstanding black-centric illustrations. The 26-page coloring book tells the story of Queenie, a precocious five-year-old anxious to start school. When Queenie finds out she has to get vaccinated, she changes her mind and tearfully adopts a “No shots” stance. Her older Brother Miles, his best friend, a Laotian boy named Duc, and Queenie’s best friend, a Salvadorian girl, Isabel, help address Queenie’s vaccine hesitancy by sharing with her the critical and significant contributions Black men and women made to the immunization history of the United States. That includes the significant contributions of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett to the development of the COVID 19 vaccine.
Ms. King wrote the book during the pandemic. As she noticed the need for the children to be vaccinated, she also witnessed the fear people had of getting shots. So Queenie Gets Her Shots was a vehicle for dealing with the fear associated with vaccinations, which for Ms. King has been a life-long phobia that had to be overcome due to her job working with Seniors as an Oakland City employee.
Seeing people like themselves doing great things
Children must see and hear about people like themselves making significant contributions in science, health, and society in general. We are grateful for the opportunity to give Queenie Gets Her Shots to hundreds of children in Succeeding by Reading.
Children must see and hear about people like themselves making significant contributions in science, health, and society in general. It can inspire them to push forward in school. It reminds them that the sky is the limit, and they can do whatever they set their minds to do. Queenie, Miles, Duc, and Isabell look like many of the kids in Children Rising programs.
We are grateful for the opportunity to give Queenie Gets Her Shots to hundreds of children in Succeeding by Reading. The children’s libraries grow with stories that inspire them to succeed in school … and in life!
