Thanks to the Lakeshore West Michigan and Shandra Martinez for this great article!

This month marked the 10th anniversary of the NEA Big Read at Hope College and in the Holland community, with events tied to this year’s Big Read, Middle Read, Little Read, and Mini Read books. Together, there were more than 120 exhibits, concerts, lectures, book discussions, and outdoor adventures.

For the youngest readers, the Holland Symphony Orchestra, the Herrick District Library and the Big Read partnered to create the first Mini Read Tour.

A Herrick librarian and a quintet of HSO musicians traveled to preschools and kindergartens to perform for more than 500 people over the course of the 10 programs over two days.

“I only heard positive comments from all the places we visited, and many people expressed the wish that it would happen again next year,” says Sarah Bast, who coordinated the tour on behalf of HSO. She’s an HSO board member and chair of HSO’s education committee.

The mini-read is the sing-along book “The More We Get Together,” by Celeste Cortright and illustrated by Betania Zacarias. The story is about a diverse group of children who work together to make their urban neighborhood cleaner, friendlier, and safer.

Readers can sing along as the community bicycles and recycles together, volunteers at an assisted living home, participates in a letter-writing campaign, and finally gathers around a potluck meal.

Adding music to the Big Read

Bast came up with the idea after going on a field trip with one of her children last year to a Big Read event.

“I thought there was an opportunity for the Holland Symphony Orchestra to get involved. It made sense since we were partnering with the library,” Bast says.

She approached Hope College Professor Deb Van Duinen, the program director of NEA Big Read Lakeshore, and Van Duinen was enthusiastic about the idea. This is the second year that the Big Read included a book targeted for the youngest readers.

“It was just a perfect fit for the symphony because the book already had music,” Bast says.

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