Regional Oral History Office

Richmond Community History Project New Readers Series

Community-based oral histories appropriate for adult literacy programs, ABE, ESL, junior high, secondary schools, and community colleges. Available now from the Regional Oral History Office of the University of California at Berkeley.

From a Teenager to a Man , by John Wilkerson, is the story of a young man's challenges in leaving the streets and becoming a father, and his aspirations to be a writer.
I Gave My Soul , by Sue Muccular, is a collection of poems and illustrations portraying a mother's love, the responsibilities of parenting in today's world, and courage.
God's Child , by Tiana, is a moving account of a 32-yr-old woman who has kept her reading problem a secret. Currently a businesswoman, student, and mother, Tiana's story is an example of determination.
Cotton, Cotton, Cotton , by Ginger Gibson, is a 64-year-old woman's recollections of her family's life as sharecroppers in rural Mississippi in the 1930's.
A Wartime Journey, 1942 , by Margaret Louise Cathey, is the saga of a young woman leaving a small town in Iowa to become a welder in the World War II Kaiser shipyards in Richmond, California.
Fisherman by Trade , by Dominic Ghio, is a lively story about one family's lifetime occupation as fishermen in San Francisco Bay.

A Singing Shipbuilder , by Lewis Van Hook, now 85, is an account of leaving Arkansas farm life for work in the Kaiser shipyards in Richmond, California, during World War II.
Make a Dime, Save a Nickel , by Eddie Eaton, is a detailed memory of a mother's advice to her son about the importance of saving money. The setting is Houston, Texas, in the 1930s.

The New Readers Series is a collection of eight books adapted from the oral histories and poetry of residents of Richmond, California. The authors are from 23 to 85 years old. They speak in their own words about life experiences such as growing u p in rural Mississippi, working in World War II shipyards, parenting in the '90s, and the challenges and rewards of learning to read as an adult. Four of the authors are students in LEAP, a community-based adult literacy program of the Richmond Public Li brary. Richmond, California, is an ethnically diverse community of 80,000 located 16 miles northeast of San Francisco.

      - compelling stories
      - innovative instructional material
      - easy-to-read format
      - illustrated with original photographs and drawings
      - high-quality offset printing
      - 6 ½" x 9"; average 35 pages; durable, varnished covers
      - An 85-page teaching guide accompanies the Series and includes tutor strategies, comprehension questions,       - and language activities for each story

The Richmond Community History Project: New Readers Series is a collaborative project of the Richmond Public Library and the Regional Oral History Office of the University of California, Berkeley. The project was funded through a grant by the U.S. Department of Education under the provision of the Library Services and Construction Act administered in California by the State Librarian.

To order these books, print out and use the accompanying order form (click here) or contact the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Doe Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720. Telephone (510) 642-7395.

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Last Updated: 10/25/04