Smiles, Superheroes and Stories highlight the 2026 Books, Blankets, & Family Fun! event

Molly Lieberman: Reading is such an adventure. You can go anywhere in the world. You can experience things you never get to experience  when you read a book.

Dr. Tonia Howard-Hall: You know that there is power in reading. There is power and writing, and there is power in speaking.

Ken Slats: And that power was flexing at Books, Blankets, and Family Fun..

Janard Murray: I saw Spider-Man and Captain America, and we've been doing some games. There was a basketball hoop and there was a Nerf gun, and you had to shoot down the towers. And they also gave us these, free shades.

Ken Slats: Certainly a bright day at Daffin Park, all centered around our North Star, literacy.

Kim Gusby: And you better get to class, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

Janard Murray: I love rereading because I like to read comic books.

Ken Slats: Which favorite comic?

Janard Murray: I don't know, I have a lot of. I read a lot, and, I like I like books and I like superheroes.

Aliyah Patrice: Dork Diaries.

Ken Slats: What do you like that book?

Aliyah Patrice: Because it's like it's a girl. Though she expressed my feelings, I like to express my feelings. So every time when I read a book I feel confident.

Molly Lieberman: Reading just opens up the whole world, doesn't it? You know, there's very few things in life that don't involve reading. So when you learn to read, you're opening the gates to countless exciting adventures that you can have throughout life, and then just really practical things that it's so much easier to navigate the world.

Ken Slats: Reading, writing, arithmetic, century old staples. The core expanded at SCCPSS.

Dr. Angie Lewis: Our focus is to serve the whole channel, not just testing, not just what they get in the classroom. We want them to know education expands beyond the four walls of a classroom. So by offering opportunities for them to come out and have fun, to let them know that education is really fun. And we find out that when students have fun and learn, they retain it, they keep it and they grow.

Ken Slats: That growth starts with literacy. A little advice, maybe.

Janard Murray: I tell them that that they have to push themselves to do better, and if they don't know how to read, they then can possibly find a tutor.

Aliyah Patrice: I'll tell them that they need to read is very important because if you don't read, you can't be good in life, so you really need to read a lot. So you can learn words.

Students: Read on.

Ken Slats: At the 2026 Books, Blankets and Family Fun event, I'm Ken Slats.