 Welcome to Talk Story with John Waihei. We have another very interesting show for you this afternoon. Actually, we are bringing back some of our former guests to talk about a very important subject, and that is teaching reading to people, but especially to children. And the name of the show would be the power and promise of reading aloud. So we have the reading experts. First of all, we have Kara Kuzunoki, not Russian by any stretch of the imagination. Not the show anyway. And the Executive Director of Read To Me International. And with her, we have Lin Waihei, who is the President of Read To Me International. And as part of full disclosure, also married to me, which is why she's such a special guest. I am on my best behavior viewers, so don't expect anything really crazy to happen on this particular show. All right, here we are, ladies. You're going to talk to us about reading in your organization. So how, and by the way, these guys are like teachers, you know? So they came to, not only did they work their way into my show, they also brought the question. Just so you know what happens if you bring teachers to your show. Now, how long have you been, how long has Read To Me International been in business? 23 years. 23 years? Yes. Wow. We've been working very hard. Did you folks succeed somebody else, or do you look much too young to be working in the same place for 23 years? She's just, Tara has just been with us for a little over a year now. What does that say? You're the one that looks young? Is that it? No. I think I look rather aged. All right. What do you guys do? What is it? What's your mission? My mission is to share the love and joy of reading aloud. And why is that important? Why is reading aloud important? I mean, you know, my dad used to read to me when I was growing up. Yeah, I go great books, The Black Stallion, which is my favorite, you know, and all of the variations, the Tom Hardy boys. I'm sure you guys have heard of Nancy Drew and the rest of it. So what do you read to kids in this day and age? Well, first of all, why is reading aloud important? I think you nailed it. So what was your former profession or job before you came to do ThinkThack? I take out the garbage at our house. What's Kara's job? Does she just sit there and like nod her head? Is that like because the president's here or? She works really, really hard. Okay, so. Okay. That's my point. You were once governor of Hawaii and you wouldn't have been there had your father not read aloud to you when you were a young man. Oh, good. Good. Well, okay. Well, okay, so. Thank you for all the bits. Yes. Being read to. So we, okay. So seriously, we know that when children are read to, they will have the skills they need to become successful readers for the most part, okay, for the most part. So this is why it's critical that when parents bring their children home from the hospital from day one, in fact, they can even do it prenatally while the child is still in the womb, read aloud to the child and great start. Well, if you're a parent like me, though, don't sing to the child in the womb because then they'll come out and not be able to sing. But reading works, right? Reading works. Kara? Yes. Non-Russian. Non-Russian. Let's, what are some of the programs that read to me? Sure. So last time we were on the show, we talked about our Hapamotolello program, which, just to refresh everyone's memory, is the program where we have volunteers going into correctional facilities in Hawaii and coaching inmates on how to read, I'm sorry, how to write and illustrate their own children's storybook for their child. So these are inmates, lady inmates that wrote to their, wrote books for their children. Right, right. And we actually have some samples today, but it's for many different ages, particularly young children who don't have access to their mother being at home and so they want to have a way to connect. And that's one of our signature programs that we've been running for quite some time now. We've seen and heard success stories and actually we're featuring one of our authors from that program at our next conference coming up. Well, really? Mm-hmm. So where's the example of the book? Okay, so what do we do, John? We read aloud. Okay. So I have to read a story. No, but I want to see a copy of the book first. No, not yet. Not yet, okay. Not yet, we want to keep you in suspense. So this is called Andrew, Jew, and Drew, and it's written by Barney Salzburg and he is one of our two keynote speakers for our conference. Well, we're going to talk more about your conference in a little while. Now, now. We're going to talk about it now after I read the story, okay? Okay, go ahead. So Barney Salzburg has written this book and you will notice as we go through this book it's very creative. It's kind of out of the box kind of book and that's really what our conference is about. Okay. It's about igniting your imagination. So this is Barney and it starts off by saying Andrew was a doodle boy. And you know when I go out into the classrooms I always have to say, do you know what doodle means? Because otherwise they erupt into laughter thinking is something else. So that's how we start. He was a doodle boy. I'm glad you clarified that. And you'll notice the lines throughout this story. He drew and drew and drew. What is that? Okay. It starts with a line, okay? Andrew never knew what would happen when he began. Oh wow. Isn't that neat? Yes. He began with nothing but what? Take a guess. He began with nothing but a pencil. A line. A line. There we go. Oh boy. I'm not that good a student back then. And before he knew it. He was flying on a kite. Ideas would start to fly. He's now in a rocket ship. Andrew thought that making a drawing was like making a doodle. Is that a good guess? Magic. Magic. Okay. I got it. How are you getting? But I do want to talk to you though a little deeper. This was written by... Bonnie Salzburg. Bonnie Salzburg. I won't finish the book. But this is a sample of the kind of person that we have coming to our conference. Okay. When is your conference? We should set some foundation. Your conference is next week, I understand. It is June 6th and 7th. Thursday and Friday. To all day celebration. One of the people that will be presenting at that conference, I understand, is Bonnie Salzburg. Yes. And what will he talk about? Like how do you write a book? What's the importance of a book to a child? What exactly will he present? I think he's probably going to address the parents and educators that we have there and the service providers and talk to them about ways that they can show their creativity so that children can learn in a fun environment and get into reading in a way that's fun and enjoyable. Okay. So you're going to be having a conference next week. Yes. It's a two-day conference. And who are some of the participants that will be at the conference? Their parents. Their teachers, preschool teachers, elementary school teachers. What about older kids? I mean, teachers that teach at the intermediate and high school. Will they also be there? It's really not meant for them, but I think some of the strategies that we share probably could help them. By the way, we also have another, and he's a national author. Both of the national authors that we have are award-winning authors. And we also have Keiko Kaza, and I think we have a couple of books that we can show. Right. So people are invited to the conference? Yes. Do they get any kind of credit for it? We have non-PDE3 credits for DOE. And we don't understand a word. Don't worry. They know what it is. So that the rest of us know what's non-PDE credit. Well, it's credit that they can apply for. For their professional development? Well, something along that line. It can be added to their records so they can show and they can earn credits that way. So this is also important for professional development as well? Yes. For preschool teachers as well. Okay. So this conference will have Andrew... Well, it'll have Barney Salzberg as one. And you're going to tell... What's your other... Keiko Kaza is the other one. So I think we have a couple of book covers that we can show. Okay. So this was her first book that she wrote. It's called The Wolf's Chicken Stew. Very adorable. And one of our favorites which I brought today as well is the second book cover that we have to show you. It's called My Lucky Day. All right. And it's got a little twist because... It looks like the fox is not going to eat the little piggy. You don't think so? I don't know. It just looks like that piggy is dancing there looking at the little piggy. Well, you will have to read the book to see who's lucky day it was. Okay. Well, maybe it's the fox. Maybe he gets eaten. So they come to the conference, right? So that'll be taking place next week, Thursday and Friday, I gather. And you're going to be holding it where? At the Ko'olau Bow Rooms and Conference Center. Oh, on the windward side, Ko'olau Bow Rooms. All right. So in addition to holding conferences, I'm sure you build up different types of programs. We were just talking about the prison program. And why don't we just kind of brief us again about what's going on there? You mean in the prison? Right. So right now we actually just finished our last sessions for our newest cohort of incarcerated parents there. And we have seven graduates in July graduating from the program. And we're really excited to launch their books. It's in the production right now process. And we have books that shared different things about mommy's love for you. We had a story about a pig that was lost and then was found. Just giving you a preview of a few of them. The pig is hanging out with the fox. Well, that's a surprise. I don't want to spoil a hair story. But this pig is very different from that pig in Kekela's book. And for some reason pigs are the trend now. Everyone wants to write about pigs or foxes. And so we have a really wonderful story about a pig who's lost and wants to find a way home. And all of the books kind of have that theme of love and sending a message home to their kids. And these again are mothers writing to their children, right? So is this one of the... Is that a book? This is one of the books that we have that we've published. And you can see it's... A beautiful day. Yeah. And it's also a beautiful book. And it's amazing that some of them are... Can illustrate as well as they do. We help them with the stories, helping them to write the story we go through and we do edits and edits and edits. And this book, whatever they write, like this one has actually been published. Yes. Now at your conference, will you be... Will people from this program also be there? The prison program? Actually, we have a very successful story about one of the ladies who went through this program. She's going to be on an authors panel. So we always have a Hawaii authors panel. Three people that are coming. And they are Tammy and Lois Kim and... Gabrielle Holt. Gabrielle. Gabrielle Holt. We're going to take a short break. And when we come back, I want to talk to you a little bit more about how you are integrating this program into your conference because it sounds like very interesting. So we'll be right back. Aloha. This is Winston Welch. 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We'd be grateful if you'd go to ThinkTechHawaii.com and make a donation to support us now. Thanks so much. Welcome back to Talk Story with John Wahey and our exciting guests who are here visiting us from Read To Me International which has dedicated itself to the concept that reading aloud to children makes not only for better students but a better community. It gives parents and students a chance to be with each other. We have two guests with us this afternoon as you met earlier, for those of you that watched the first half of the program. We have Kara Kusonoki, no other pronunciation. And we have Len Wahey married to the host. And you know, you really got guys, you really got to come to our house because not only is she committed to, you know, reading to children in general, but if you walk around the place, I must have the only house in Hawaii that has material like this lying around, you know. The joy and the promise, power and promise of reading aloud and independent reading. I mean, this is like normal stuff. When you're eating breakfast, in case you want something to read, here it is. Except our house is so messy. Do not invite people to our house. No, I'm not. But you got to understand, the mess has something to do with reading. And it's everywhere. So we were talking about your conference, which you're having next week. And you bring inviting teachers, inviting parents, inviting people who deal, I guess, with children in general. And some of the, I guess, clients of your program that you run at the Women's Prison, where the women actually learn how to write and do produce books like these for their children. So tell me more about it. I mean, so they'll be there. They'll be, what's going on? They're going to be, this particular author will be on a panel. No, no, no, no. I meant to say that this particular author that we're featuring was released. And after her release, she went to the Hawaii Book and Music Festival and looked for a publisher. When you say released, you mean released from prison? Yes. And she went to the Honolulu Book and Music Festival to look for a publisher. And she found one. So she is a real published author. Wow, so this book can be bought. Not this one. Another book. Yes. And then she also wrote a second book. Her first book was Mommy Loves You. Oh, what a great title. And the second one was My Best Friend. She's got two books that have been published. And so she really is an author coming out of this program. And she'll be a participant at the conference. Yes. As an author. Now, you have other programs besides this prison program. I know that you've got something with the homeless. So, Kara, why don't you tell us a little bit about your program at the village? Sure. What's the, I forgot the name. So the village's name is Kaweeke Village. And it's actually located near San Island Access Road in Evelay. And it was actually a concept that was dreamt by Dwayne Creesew as well as different developers and nonprofits together who wanted to create a solution, a long-term solution to provide housing for formerly homeless families. So it's first of its kind of public-private partnership. And so far, they've finished a first phase of the village. And so there are about, I want to say, 80 families or maybe 80 individuals living on site right now. So there are like 80 individuals who are families. There are a number of families. A substantial number of families, though, because they're living there right now. And what do you do? What's your program? So, so far, we're excited. We launched what we call our Readers' Rallies, where the entire... What are you calling it? Readers' Rallies. Readers' Rallies. Okay. Right. So we invite the whole community at Kaweeke Village to come together for a night of books, read-alouds, music, and food, and social networking. And we've had two so far. The first Readers' Rallies we had featured Jake Shimabukuro as our featured guest. And it was a really wonderful evening, right, Lynn? Yeah. Unforgettable. And I'm sure that the people there must have really enjoyed it. I mean, it's not... I mean, I don't get to see... Right? You should have to pay $60 to see Jake. Yeah. And so we opened it to this community. I'm stuck at home reading passwords. Yeah. Well, next time you should come to our next Readers' Rallies because our next guest, this is happening in July, is going to be Robi Kahakalao. Oh, wow. She knows she's got a great hit out on the Hawaiian kind radio. Mm-hmm. Right. I mean, she is... Kaliki Oka Vai, I think, or something like that. It was written by Brickwood Galateria. Oh. From Sanita. It's a beautiful song. It was a song dedicated to mom. So it's perfect. Perfect. Perfect for the work that you do. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And so she... What... You said you had two of these programs. Right. Jake played at the first one. What would happen at the second? The second, we featured Frank DeLima. Frank DeLima. Right? Classic. Classic. Very much comedian, personality, brought his energy to the crowd. So people were dancing and laughing. I'm sure he... I'm sure that he taught the audience how to speak perfect English, too. Oh, absolutely. Along with Buta Hunt, and Peanut Butter and Jelly, all the classics. Really? Mm-hmm. I can just see him going eight, eight, eight. And all of a sudden, what? Isn't that what he does? Four to two. Four to two. Two to two. Yeah, two to two. Something, yeah? Sounds like Frank. So, okay. So you're working at the homeless village. Now, is any part of that program going to be incorporated into your convention? Mm-hmm. No. Well, I... No. Okay. Well, because that's just... Well, at the end of our program, just for maybe 45 minutes or so at the tail end of our conference, we do have the guest authors to feature national authors. They will be reading aloud something from their work. So you're... We conclude with a read aloud. Okay. Well, we already talked about one of your authors, Barney Salzburg. Yes. Who is a national author. And Keiko Kasa. And you mentioned... Keiko Kasa. Keiko Kasa. Keiko Kasa. So they showed... Keiko, we just showed her. Yes. And who else besides those two, if anybody, do you have the conference? Tammy Yi. Who? Tammy Yi. Tammy Yi. Yes. Okay. And Lois Kim. Lois Kim. Who had gone through our program. And Gabriela Ho. Okay, we have some books that we can bring up. These are from our Akuma O'Lella program, where we work with the inmates at the Women's Correctional Facility. So these are books that were written by some of your other... Wow. Yes. Guests, who might also be guests at your convention, but this is one called I Love Hilo. Yes. By Yvette Butterfield. No. What's this book about? This one is all about... So Hilo is Yvette's hometown. And she just recaps all of the places that she says is a must-seize of Hilo. So she's almost like a tour guide of sorts in this book. There's children. That's great. Lots of pictures. Food. Entertainment. Lots of fun in there. Oh, terrific. Okay, we got others. We got at least two more. So why don't we shoot the books out? This is the great advantage. Is this another book that's being written by somebody in your program? Yeah, this is the... These three that we're featuring right now, they were all done by the inmates. And they've all been published. Yes, this is the... Yes. There's one more. And there's one more. Those have all been already published. The Hawaiian underwater adventure, the one prior to this. So these books are all published books that came out of the prison program. Fantastic. Okay, so get... And these people, at least some of the people that are in that program will be at your conference. Just one. Because the rest are still... I got it. Yeah, too bad. Well, hopefully one day, you know, they'll be released and make a meaningful contribution to this project. Oh, fantastic. Now, I know that one night, I got dragged out to Waianae. Oh, yes. And, you know, we went out there and there were people reading to kids. And it was just an exciting evening at the Waianae Library out there. Was it the Nanakuli? Was it the new one? Nanakuli. So we got about two minutes, so why don't you tell us real quickly what happens in the Nanakuli Library in the district of Waianae. Oh, sure. So we also, recently, goes out to different communities and offers workshops. We do read-alows for fun. And so that particular event that you're talking about is where we go out and we read to kids. It's just a fun way of really getting parents engaged. We see a lot of gay members. There were a lot of parents that were actually bringing their kids in to listen to you. Do you have celebrity readers and people like that? Or do you invite people? Out of our programs, like Kahoiki Village, we do. So we try to bring in different people. But what we like to model is that anyone can read out loud. It's just a matter of just trying it out, having fun, making a few mistakes and learning from it. That's really the value, I think. And, you know, as a parent, kids connect to their parents most closely, especially when they're young. So it's really about that bonding and experience that they can share together. Well, that's fantastic. And, you know, the thing about reading aloud is that it also helps the reader. Absolutely. I'm happy to be here anyway. Absolutely. Well, we want to thank you for being with me this afternoon. And I also, I guess, we want to encourage people to find out more about your conference. Now, where can they do that? You've got a website or something? We do have a website. The website address is www.read2meintl.org. And they can also follow us on Facebook or Instagram. Right. Well, thank you. And it's good luck on the conference. And thank you for all the good work you're doing. Thanks for having us. Thank you for having us.