Nationwide — The third annual Once I See Me™ Kids’s Guide Honest takes place Saturday, July 25, 2026 (11 am to 4 pm) on the Dayton Metro Library’s West Department, in Dayton, Ohio, bringing collectively African American kids’s authors, educators, households, and psychological well being professionals for a literacy expertise that extends past conventional e-book festivals. The mannequin responds to an ongoing illustration hole in kids’s publishing by creating areas the place numerous authors are seen, accessible, and straight related to younger readers.
Attendance finally yr’s occasion doubled from the earlier yr, signaling rising group demand for culturally responsive books and family-centered literacy programming.
What started as an area kids’s e-book honest has developed right into a broader literacy motion responding to persistent gaps in illustration in kids’s literature. The Once I See Me™ Kids’s Guide Honest has raised greater than $10,000 and positioned books into the arms of over 1,000 kids by means of its signature “A Guide in Each Bag” effort — designed to make sure each youngster receives a e-book reflecting their id and potential.
The e-book honest started after a younger reader’s expertise highlighted how not often kids encounter books that mirror their lives. At this time, the initiative operates as a social-impact publishing mannequin mixing writer visibility, household literacy, and e-book entry.
“When kids see themselves in tales, it shapes how they see their future,” stated Valerie J. Lewis Coleman, founding father of the e-book honest. “This work brings books, belonging, and risk collectively in a single place.” The method positions the e-book honest as a part of a broader community-driven literacy motion quite than a standalone occasion.
Not like conventional festivals, Once I See Me™ integrates youth writer debuts, social-emotional studying experiences, and household literacy engagement — positioning studying as each tutorial and emotional growth.
The initiative continues to broaden by means of partnerships with colleges, group organizations, and impartial authors, with organizers exploring methods to duplicate the mannequin in extra communities, laying the groundwork for growth into extra communities nationwide.
Media protection alternatives embody youth writer debuts, dwell social-emotional studying actions, household literacy engagement, and the rising community of impartial kids’s authors contributing to illustration in publishing.
Occasion Particulars:Once I See Me™ Kids’s Guide FairDate/Time: Saturday, July 25, 2026 | 11:00 AM–4:00 PMLocation: Dayton Metro Library – West Department, 300 Abbey Avenue, Dayton, OH 45417
For Authors: WhenISeeMe.com/AuthorFor Sponsors: WhenISeeMe.com/Sponsorship
AboutWhen I See Me™ is a community-driven literacy initiative based by writer and publishing mentor, Valerie J. Lewis Coleman, to make sure kids have entry to books that mirror their identities, experiences, and potentialities. By means of kids’s e-book festivals, youth publishing alternatives, and family-centered literacy programming, the initiative connects numerous authors, educators, psychological well being professionals, and group companions to help studying, confidence, and belonging.
Once I See Me™ makes use of publishing as a instrument to help literacy, id growth, and youth voice.
Since its launch, Once I See Me™ has raised greater than $10,000 and positioned books into the arms of over 1,000 kids, with attendance rising annually. Guide entry is made potential by means of particular person donors, sponsors, and group partnerships that assist present free books to collaborating kids.
Coleman is creating the initiative’s long-term infrastructure to broaden entry to numerous books and youth storytelling alternatives in extra communities nationwide. Be taught extra at WhenISeeMe.com
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