My Brother’s Keeper Newark Announces 2025 Summer of Reading List to Promote Literacy Among Young Boys and Men of Color Across Newark

Originally published on Insider NJ

The second annual list includes 30 books for readers with works by Newark-based authors and will be distributed by local organizations

My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Newark and Reading Partners joined “Conversations with Mayor Ras J. Baraka” on Facebook Live to discuss the MBK 2025 Summer of Reading List and book distribution with local organizations, including Reading Partners.

Newark, NJ – My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Newark, an initiative of Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN) built on the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, has announced its 2025 Summer of Reading List featuring 30 books for early childhood to adult readers. Mark Comesañas, executive director of My Brother’s Keeper Newark, appeared on “Conversations with Mayor Ras J. Baraka,” the Mayor’s Facebook Live program, hosted by Cerenthia McElroy, Manager, Newark People’s Assembly, and featuring Reading Partners, a national nonprofit delivering high-quality, one-on-one community literacy tutoring, CEO, Adeola Whitney and Managing Director of Partnerships, Dr. Naima Ricks, to discuss this year’s list and the importance of maintaining ongoing literacy initiatives through collaboration in the city of Newark.

“The MBK 2025 Summer of Reading List focuses on topics relevant to young men and boys of color, while keeping them engaged over the summer months to prevent the “summer slide,” said Comesañas. “MBK Newark, alongside Mayor Baraka and our community partners, are working together to close the literacy gap in Newark by providing opportunities to encourage our young people to read, so they can achieve academic and personal success.”

In 2023, Mayor Ras Baraka launched a citywide 10-point literacy plan at the Newark Public Library in response to low literacy test scores exacerbated by learning loss from the Covid-19 pandemic. A former educator and school principal, Mayor Baraka’s plan includes participation from schools, parents and the greater Newark community to address the literacy crisis. Several points of the plan prioritize providing students and families with books that reflect their lived experiences. The final point of the plan is a call-to-action for community partners to distribute books to help families develop these libraries.

MBK Newark has purchased 500 copies of the books on the list for distribution throughout the summer at events and in partnership with community organizations. One local collaborator distributing books is Reading Partners, which is currently recruiting tutors in Newark in partnership with GreenLight Fund Greater Newark to improve literacy outcomes for 4,500 students over the next four years.

The reading list is made up of six sections of books designated by age, covering topics to connect young boys and men of color to a range of experiences. From the building blocks of literacy skills in early childhood, to exploring cultural and personal identity throughout adolescence and young adulthood, the books explore themes of understanding emotions and fostering friendships, to overcoming adversity with family, friends and self.

The MBK Newark 2025 Summer of Reading List

Ages 0-3

• “Naciste Para Mi/Made for Me” for Me by Zack Bush
• “Brown Sugar Babe” by Charlotte Watson Sherman
• “Sa a pou Mwen/That’s Mine!” By Sumana Seeboruth
• “Baby Goes to Market” by Atinuke
• “Cool Cuts” by Mechal Renee Roe

Ages 4-6

• “Brick by Brick” – Heidi Woodward Sheffield
• “The World Belonged to Us” by Jacqueline Woodsoon
• “Un Beso en Mi Mano/The Kissing Hand” by Audrey Penn
• “Dragons Love Tacos” by Adam Rubin
• “The Day the Crayons Quit” by Drew Daywalt

Ages 7-9

• “Benita y las criaturas nocturnas/Benita and the Night Creatures” by Mariana Llanos
• “Freedom Soup” by Tami Charles
• “Merci Suárez Changes Gears” by Meg Medina
• “Dragons in a Bag” by Zetta Elliot
• “J.D. and the Great Barber Battle” by J. Dillard

Ages 10-13

• “The Adventures of Yaya Soup: Soup Joumou Lakay Grann Pola” (series) by Tico Armand and Angie Bell
• “The Last Last-Day-of-Summer” by Lamar Giles
• “Amanda Black: Una herencia peligrosa” (series) by Juan Gómez-Jurado y Bárbara Montes
• “The Boy in the Black Suit” by Jason Reynolds
• “Mamie Phipps Clark, Champion for Children” by Lynette Mawhinney

Ages 14-17

• “Solito” by Javier Zamora
• “Clap When You Land” by Elizabeth Acevedo
• “What Lane?” by Torrey Maldonado
• “Concrete Rose” by Angie Thomas
• “Louder Than Words” by Ashley Woodfolk

Ages 18+

• “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett
• “The Sun is Also a Star” by Nicola Yoon
• “One Day I Shall Astonish the World’ by Nina Stibbe
• “Cien Años de Soledad” by Gabriel García Márquez
• “The Power of Exposure: Lessons of Success from Highly Effective Mentors” by Dan De Nose

To view the full MBK Newark 2025 Summer of Reading List, including book synopses, click here.

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About My Brother’s Keeper Alliance

The My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation, leads a cross-sector national call to action focused on building safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color where they feel valued and have clear pathways to opportunity. In addition to providing ongoing support to its network of nearly 250 MBK Communities and mobilizing individuals and institutions to take action, the MBK Alliance works to accelerate impact in local communities through direct investments of funding, training, and other essential resources.

About Newark Opportunity Youth Network

Newark Opportunity Youth Network launched in 2016 with a multi-pronged approach to improving outcomes for opportunity youth in our community – and across New Jersey. To execute this mission, our network is comprised of four key elements: Education, Workforce Development, Policy Advocacy, and Systems Building. Every city and region is unique, but when this approach is localized to a particular community’s needs, only then, can large-scale, sustainable impact for opportunity youth become possible.