San Diego man's neighborhood book party turns into countywide celebration to inspire kids to read

Hundreds of youngsters and their families from across San Diego are counting the days until the annual Children's Book Party on April 27 at Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.

The pavilion will be filled with books — thousands of them.

The spark for the book party came from a man who did not discover his love for reading until later in life, but wanted children to have the chance to develop a love for reading early on.

It all started 40 years ago in the backyard of Roosevelt Brown and his family in Emerald Hills. The family set up tables for neighborhood kids to come and choose some books to take home. The family served apple juice and cookies.

Brown started the book party so kids would be inspired to read. Brown probably would have loved reading when he was a kid, but he had a speech impediment. When he had to read aloud in class, he stuttered. So reading became a burden instead of a joy. "I was scared of being called on and I just tried to survive in school," said Brown, 81, who attended Logan Elementary School, Memorial Junior High School and San Diego High School. After he graduated from Associated Barber School, he owned a barbershop and a record shop. He got a job at Solar Turbines when he was in his early 30s and worked his way up from the maintenance department to doing inspections.

It was not until after Brown was in his 30s, when he took classes at San Diego City College and the University of Redlands, that he discovered his love of reading, and he's still taking classes at UC San Diego. But he didn't want other kids to have to wait as long as he did to discover the joy of reading.

"I started this because I didn't want any child to grow up without learning," Brown said. He felt it was a calling. "I would do anything to encourage them to read and learn and develop confidence and feel good about themselves."

At first, Brown handed out books to kids around his neighborhood and told them how important it was to read. He had a brown pickup truck piled high with donated used books from the Friends of the San Diego Public Library, where he served as a volunteer. "I wanted to help the kids create their own home libraries and get inspired to read more," Brown said.

Brown's wife and kids helped out from day one and now his grandchildren and nieces and nephews help out, too, along with the community. His son JaBari Brown remembers the first book party.

"I remember how exciting it was seeing all those books out on tables. It seemed like there were hundreds and they were on all kinds of subjects," said JaBari Brown, who is director of Undergraduate Academic Advisement and Civic Engagement at the University of Southern California. He was a boy at the time and one of the youngest volunteers who served as the "runner," bringing books around to people at the book party.

''It was always a community effort," JaBari Brown said. "Some volunteers have been helping out for decades. Grandparents who had brought their kids are coming back now with their grandkids."

The Book Party outgrew the Brown's backyard within a few years and moved to the Educational Cultural Complex in San Diego, which it outgrew several years later when it moved to Balboa Park.

"The book party grew from that simple beginning, sparked by my dad's passion to share his love of reading, to a grander scale, but the goal has always been the same: to encourage reading and open up a world of possibilities for kids," JaBari Brown said.

Roosevelt Brown started the nonprofit Reading Literacy Learning, Inc. several decades ago to host book parties around San Diego. The nonprofit has distributed more than 1 million new books to students since then. Its motto is "Planting the seeds of learning, one book at a time."

"Mr. Brown's dedication to getting books into kids hands is unstoppable. Even during COVID, when we had all the restrictions on gatherings, he found a way to get those books into our students' hands by delivering them directly to our school," said Judy Mann, a first-grade teacher at Encanto Elementary School in San Diego.

Many of the families could not afford to buy new books. "Mr. Brown provides an opportunity for all students to get excited about reading and owning their own brand new books," said Mann, who has accompanied students and their families to the event.

At Baker Elementary School in San Diego, kids look forward to the book party every year for weeks in advance. "Our families are excited to attend, and we really try to make a day of it at Balboa Park. Students love the books they receive, and they read and share them on the bus on our way back to Baker,” said Principal Kathleen Gallagher, who has been attending the event along with the school community for the past 10 years.

"When we arrive at the Organ Pavilion, Mr. Brown is so happy to see us; he is a wonderful host," Gallagher said. "You can see the love he and his family put into this. It is a gift to our community."

When the kids get there, they can pick out two new books and take them home. There'll be free snacks and entertainment, such as Ballet Folklorico dancers and other dance groups. The books are aimed at kids in kindergarten through high school and are organized by grade. Dozens of volunteers, including local Marines, will be there to help kids find the books they'd like.

"The most exciting part is seeing the look on the children's faces when they get the book they came for," Roosevelt Brown said. Sometimes they start reading it. Sometimes they hug the book."

Many of the kids come back and thank Brown and tell him they love their new books. Brown has put a lot into the book party, but he doesn't talk about that. He just talks about how much the kids like their books.

"The most rewarding part is the smiles on the kids' faces, their excitement and the way they say, "Wow," Roosevelt Brown said. "I plan to continue having the book parties until the sun sets on me."

This year's 40th annual Children's Book Party is from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on April 27 at the Spreckel's Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.

Visit http://www.childrensbookparty.org/.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune .