This summer, nearly 400 children and caregivers from all five boroughs joined LINC for one of our most joyful traditions: Reading on the Rails.

Throughout the year, LINC encourages families to board subways, buses, and ferries with books in hand, reading their way to some of New York City’s most iconic destinations.

We’ve read our way to City Hall. The New York Transit Museum. Yankee Stadium. One World Observatory. The New York Aquarium. And more.

For many families, these adventures offer something especially meaningful: the opportunity to discover a new part of their city, sometimes for the very first time.

And this summer, Reading on the Rails took us somewhere truly special: Central Park.

The Adventure Begins Before We Arrive

Reading on the Rails isn’t just about the destination.

Families travel from neighborhoods across all five boroughs by subway, bus, and ferry and we turn the journey itself into an adventure in literacy.

Families read and sing together. Children search for clues. They read signs and maps. They notice letters, numbers, colors, and words. Families talk about what they see, make predictions about where they’re going, tell stories, sing, and discover new things together.

By the time they arrive, they’ve already been reading their way across New York City.

Then comes the celebration.

This year, close to 400 children and caregivers converged in Central Park for a day filled with food, music, dancing, singing, play, literacy games, and hands-on activities.

And there was an extra-special guest waiting for them.

New York Times bestselling author and longtime LINC friend Tish Rabe brought storytelling to life with a special reading of her newest book, Central Park, You Can See Is the Best Place to Be. Children had the chance to meet a real author and leave with signed books of their own.

For many young children, meeting the person behind a book makes the world of stories suddenly feel a little more real and a lot more exciting.

Reading on the Rails Made News!

This year’s celebration didn’t just capture the imagination of our families, it captured the attention of the media, too.

NBC Morning News featured Reading on the Rails, sharing the excitement of the event and speaking with Tish Rabe ahead of our Central Park adventure.

WATCH THE NBC SEGMENT

We were thrilled to see this uniquely LINC tradition reach an even wider audience and to share a message we’ve believed for decades: literacy can happen anywhere.

Look Where Reading Has Taken Us

Over more than a decade, Reading on the Rails has transformed New York City into one enormous place for families to explore and learn together.

City Hall → New York Transit Museum → Yankee Stadium → One World Observatory → New York Aquarium → Central Park

Year after year, the destination changes. Families discover new places. Children encounter new experiences. And together, we make memories around books, language, exploration, and learning

Because a child doesn’t only build literacy skills while sitting down with a book.

New experiences give children new things to talk about, new words to learn, new questions to ask, and new stories to tell.

That’s part of the magic of Reading on the Rails.

One Big Summer Celebration. A Year-Round Idea.

Reading on the Rails may be our biggest Reading Everywhere adventure, but the idea behind it continues all year long.

Every month, through LINC’s robust network of local partners across New York City, Reading Everywhere brings families together to read, talk, sing, play, explore, and learn in the places that are already part of their lives.

Reading on the Rails takes that idea and puts it quite literally in motion.

It reminds all of us that our neighborhoods, our parks, our trains, our museums, our landmarks, and our entire city can become places where children’s curiosity and literacy grow.

For 12 years, thousands of little feet have followed us on these adventures.

We can’t wait to see where reading takes us next.

Because wherever families go, there is an opportunity to Read Everywhere.

You’re Part of This Story

If you’re reading this, you are part of the community that makes this work possible.

You may be a donor, partner, board member, elected leader, caregiver, volunteer, friend, or champion of LINC. In different ways, you help us reach families, open doors to new experiences, bring communities together, and turn everyday places and moments into opportunities to bring literacy to life.

Thank you for believing in our families, in the power of community, and in our vision that children can read, learn, play, and grow everywhere.

And to the generous sponsors who made this year’s Reading on the Rails possible: thank you for your trust and investment in this very special LINC tradition. Because of you, hundreds of families were able to read their way across New York City and come together for an unforgettable day of books, exploration, play, learning, and joy.

We are so grateful to have you along for the ride.

Together, we’re helping children discover that the whole world can be a place to read, learn, and grow.

Register for your next reading adventure at www.lincnyc.org/programs.