Author of the Scholastic Inc. best-selling memoir, Why We Teach: Learning, Laughter, Love and the Power to Transform Lives, Linda Alston’s passion is to love and honor the whole child as she teaches reading, writing, and speaking skills. For decades audiences in Colorado have stood to their feet in thunderous applause as Linda’s kindergarten students spoke confidently about African Americans in history such as Mary McLeod Bethune, Langston Hughes, George Washington Carver and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Her students have presented at Iliff School of Theology, Denver Civic Center, Denver Art Museum, a Martin Luther King celebration to a crowd of twenty thousand, teacher conferences, local radio, NAACP and NCNW Harambee Brunch. As young authors they have signed their original stories at a local Barnes and Noble Book Store. One of the first trained leaders of the SPEAK Book Club is, Will, one of Linda’s former kindergarten students. When Linda asked Will to be a leader, Will said, “Yes! God always has a plan.” In his first SPEAK Book Club, Will empowered young students to express their thoughts about Dr. Charles Drew (1904–1950), an African-American surgeon who improved large scale storage of blood in blood banks. Will is working toward becoming a medical doctor.