PR From The Heart's Building A Culture Of Reading In Your Classroom 2026 Recap Video

A culture of reading isn’t built by books alone. It grows when families make room for stories, educators awaken curiosity, and neighbors place possibility in every child’s hands. This Back-to-School Season, that shared commitment came alive across Rose City. 📚🌹📚 We’re proud to premiere the official event recap video for PR From The Heart's Building A Culture Of Reading In Your Classroom 2026—a landmark literacy celebration presented in partnership with SMART Reading and held at Barnes & Noble Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Oregon, to ignite a lifelong love of literacy in children. 🎉📖🎉 From the enduring neighborly wisdom of David Newell (the beloved Mr. McFeely on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood) and the sparkly spirit of Tony Buttino Sr. (Emmy Award-Winning Co-Creator of Reading Rainbow) to the powerful perspectives of Aron Nels Steinke (Eisner Award-Winning Author & Creator of the Mr. Wolf’s Class Graphic Novel Series), Amelie Anastasia (12-Year-Old Philanthropist, Shelter Dog Advocate, & Children’s Author), Dr. Julie McDonnell (Retired Educator & Award-Winning Children’s Author), Dr. Eileen Sherman (Award-Winning Creator of the Friesian and Friends Series), and Julia Kolouch (Award-Winning Educator & Children’s Author), each featured guest brought something unforgettable to the conversation—heart, humor, hard-won insight, and practical guidance that children, families, educators, and librarians can carry forward. 🚋🎤🌈 Pages became presents through the generosity of Lisa & Scott Wentzell, Tony Bethel, Dr. Suzy Gray, and Martha Jane Bonine, who donated copies of their books to our pre-registered attendees and SMART Reading—offering discovery, delight, and destinations yet to be explored. 📖🎁📖 A special thank-you to Duresa Genemo and Zach Shapiro, along with his team at One Hundred Seconds, for capturing the energy, emotion, and defining moments of a day when stories and community took center stage. 🎬📸🎥 We also extend our heartfelt appreciation to our friends and neighbors across the Portland media—KATU's AM Northwest, KOIN News AM Extra, and KGW-TV's Hello, Rose City!—for opening their studios and airwaves to the voices and vision behind Building A Culture Of Reading In Your Classroom 2026, carrying its call to raise readers from Portland into neighborhoods nationwide. 📺 Together, these champions of children’s literature showed us that reading is far more than a skill children learn—it is where courage takes root, empathy expands, confidence rises, and belonging begins. ✨🌱✨ If you're a children's author looking for dedicated PR support to share your inspiring story and new book with the media—and reach more parents, families, and educators leading into and throughout the holiday season—contact us to learn how PR From The Heart can support you: https://bit.ly/474Jbur. 💜 Thank you for helping us walk home the children of Portland and our little neighbors around the world. 👦🏿👦🏽👦🏻🙏🏻👧🏻👧🏽👧🏿