Reading is important. People often say that gold is valuable because it is wanted by everybody, but I say that reading is even more valuable because it is needed by everybody. Reading is changing me and my life. I remember when I came to the United States twelve years ago. I only brought my eyes with me. Although I had a mouth, I could not talk. I had ears but could not hear. I was like a frog that lived in a deep well. In my second year in this country, I had our first bab

In 1958, I was born in Gongzhong which is in the south of China. In 2012, I came by myself to Hayward. In 2001, my parents moved to Oakland. My brothers and sisters live in Fremont. I bought a house in Hayward because I like Hayward. I like going to school to learn English. I ride a bicycle to attend my ESL classes at the Hayward Adult School and for the Conversation Class at the Hayward Library. I have a job taking care of a baby boy. I like my job. He is a nice boy.

Learning to read is critical to a child’s success in school and in life. Yet approximately 80 percent of pre-schools and afterschool programs serving kids in need do not have a single book for the children they serve. Turn your dollars into books for kids in need! The dd’s DISCOUNTS store located at 24055 Hesperian Blvd, Hayward, CA 94545 is collecting donations between 8/5 and 8/27 so kids at Hayward Literacy Plus Program can get new books from First Book for back-to-school.

Both my parents were born and raised in Mexico. After they married, they moved to Oakland, California, where they raised five children, two girls and three boys. I was the youngest. We lived in Oakland. My father couldn’t speak English and had a hard time finding jobs. He took whatever job was available. We were poor but happy. I remember waking up in the morning and hearing my mother singing in the kitchen all the old Mexican songs like Cielito Lindo, La Cucaracha, an

As you read my story, I hope it will help you understand that you are not alone. From the age of six, I realized that reading was a problem in school. When I was asked to read out loud, it was very hard as well as embarrassing. The other kids would laugh and say hateful things. That’s when I started to close myself and I would not read out loud anymore. As the years went on, I felt alone. It seemed that no one could or would help me. At home, there was very little patien