read-to-belong

byJake Ducharme

PROMPT 1 — Establish the product Build a polished, responsive web application called “Read to Belong Maine.” Product owner: I’m Your Neighbor Books, a Maine nonprofit that builds welcoming communities for New Arrivals and New Americans through children’s literature. Primary purpose: Help newly arrived families quickly find nearby libraries, schools, community organizations, and public events that offer one or more of: - Welcoming and newcomer-supportive services - Multilingual books, signage, interpretation, or translated materials - I’m Your Neighbor Books / Welcoming Library / Pine Project collections - Family programs, literacy events, or community gatherings designed to be welcoming Primary user: A parent or caregiver using a mobile phone, possibly in a language other than English and with low confidence navigating public institutions. Core promise: “Find places near you where your family is welcome.” Build an accessible public directory-and-map experience, not a social network. Do not require login for searching, browsing, language selection, directions, or viewing basic resource details. Use a calm, warm, practical visual direction: - Maine-inspired but not touristy - High contrast, large readable type, generous spacing - Warm blue, forest green, cream, and accessible accent colors - Friendly illustrations or abstract community motifs, not stock-photo-heavy design - Avoid deficit-based language such as “problem,” “burden,” or “at-risk” - Use “New Arrival,” “New American,” “neighbor,” “family,” and “community” where appropriate Implement a functional first version with mock data, a map panel, list results, filters, resource detail pages, event cards, language support indicators, and a lightweight partner submission workflow. At the end, provide: 1. File structure 2. Core routes 3. Data model summary 4. Setup instructions 5. A short list of implementation assumptions