Black Hills Reads Programs
Baby’s First Book Bag
The purpose of the Baby’s First Book Bag program is to provide at-risk families in the Black Hills additional resources to build a home library. The goal of this program is to help parents feel confident about reading to their children and give them tools to be successful.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
United Way of the Black Hills funds and facilitates Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program in the Black Hills. Through the program, children ages 0-5 receive an age appropriate book mailed to their home once a month.
Power Hour
Power Hour is an interactive, virtual learning event for child care providers and other early learning professionals in South Dakota. Providers can expect to hear from amazing speakers, participate in breakout conversations for reflection and collaboration, and have the opportunity to win prizes during each quarterly event.
Annual Race to Read Challenge
Each year, Black Hills Reads hosts a statewide ‘Race to Read Challenge’ in which readers across the state accumulate ‘miles’ for every book they read. These miles are then used to determine how far our figurative book mobile travels as we ‘race’ around the state! The goal with this challenge is to get kids and adults alike excited about reading. As such, any school, community organization, business, individual, or family in SD are welcome to participate!
Young Readers One Book
Each year, Black Hills Reads partners with the SD Humanities Council and other local organizations to bring students across the Black Hills the selected ‘Young Readers One Book’ (YROB) for the current year.
Teacher/parent supplemental materials are provided along with fun Black Hills Reads swag for the students. There is also an opportunity for students to meet the author of the current year’s book in person or via live stream during the annual Festival of Books.
Young Writers 3rd Grade Writing Contest
Each year, Black Hills Reads hosts a writing contest for all third graders in the Black Hills. Writers submit a short story or poem based on themes from the current year’s Young Readers One Book. Learn more about this year’s contest below.
Community Bookshelf Project
Black Hills Reads’ Community Bookshelf project places bookshelves within the community filled with gently used or new books. Children are encouraged to take a book home with them to keep and share! The Community Bookshelf program recirculates gently used children’s books back into the community where they are made available free for families to own. Books are collected at the United Way of the Black Hills or through book drives organized by volunteers or organizations. All donated books are sorted, cleaned and affixed with a label, before being placed at sites where families will have easy access to them.
The Porter Project
Porter the Hoarder Returns!
Black Hills Reads partners with the author of Porter the Hoarder, Sean Covel, and Monument Health to provide FREE books and classroom materials to students throughout the Black Hills.
Imagination Book Stops
Black Hills Reads works with CATScratchStudios to create Book Stop Activity Guides that accompany Imagination Library and other popular children’s books each year. These Book Stops include activity ideas based on the SD Early Learning Guidelines and are free resources for parents to use with their children while reading a book. So far, we have developed Book Stop Resource Guides for 21 different books!
Starting in 2023, we expanded the program to include additional in-person lesson opportunities for programs that serve young children. During each teaching event, an early learning activity adapted from an existing Book Stop Resource is taught to children at an early learning/childcare setting located in the Black Hills. A kit, which includes a copy of the book that the activity is based on, along with all necessary supplies needed to complete the activity/lesson, is provided for each child participating in the event.